The detained leader of the Indigenous People of Biafra (IPOB), Mazi Nnamdi Kanu, has disassociated himself from the sit-at-home enforcers operating in the South-East geopolitical region.
Kanu has also declared that the sit-at-home
enforcers have no sympathy for movement, and “therefore, are not his disciples.”
The IPOB leader, who described the perpetrators as haters of Biafra, said his movement was geared towards liberating the people and not enslaving them.
He alerted that murderers in uniform are hiding under cover of combating sit-at-home enforcers to inflict mayhem on the people.
Kanu, in a handwritten letter to Simon Ekpa, the Finland-based “enforcer”, prohibiting him henceforth from issuing sit-at -home order in the zone, also instructed his Special Counsel, Aloy Ejimakor, to make public the letter, should Ekpa fail to execute the order given him to publish the directive on his platform.
Confirming the handwritten letter in a public announcement released late on Friday night, and made available to journalists, Ejimakor said he is making public the letter as instructed, since Ekpa failed to heed the order given to him.
“For avoidance of doubt, this Direct Order was personally handed to me by Mazi Nnamdi Kanu when I visited him on the said 24th July, 2023 at the headquarters of the Department of State Security (DSS), Abuja.
“Later that day, I tried to contact Mazi Simon Ekpa via his WhatsApp number but could not reach him until 1: 44 AM the following day (25th July, 2023), whereupon l snapped the Direct Order as written and sent to him. He thereafter acknowledged receipt and we spoke briefly on it and exchanged a couple of text messages thereof.
“Since that early 25th July, 2023 (when I conveyed the Order to Mazi Ekpa and he duly acknowledged it, he has not implemented the Order or otherwise made such announcement on his media platform. Nonetheless, | made a conscious decision to give him the benefit of doubt and thereby accord him more time to do the needful”.
Ejimakor reproduced the viral letter, including additional paragraphs where Mazi Kanu said he has severally issued directives to those purportedly enforcing the sit-at- home order, telling them that they are not doing so with his approval.
He declared expressly that “murderers in uniform” and haters of the region were behind the action, which he said, was a waste of time, energy and resources.
Mazi Kanu, who repudiated the sit-at-home order, stated instead that what the people should concern themselves is the unconscionable delays of hearing the appeal of the Federal Government at the Supreme Court.
“Simon, this is a direct order from me. | hereby instruct you to desist from calling for any Sit-at-Home henceforth. Equally refrain from antagonizing governors or persons in political positions because you are not in a position to know what they are doing on my behalf. | am ordering you to make a public announcement to the effect that you are in receipt of a direct order from me to cancel any pending sit-at-home in place at the moment.
“I embarked on this movement to liberate our people, not to enslave them. I despise and will despise any person or entity that wishes to inflict unnecessary hardship on our people. I have authorized Aloy to issue a press statement if you fail to make this announcement on your platform.
“Anybody still engaging in Sit-at-Home is not my disciple. Haters of Biafra and mindless murderers in uniform are hiding under the cover of combating enforcers of Sit-at-Home to unleash mayhem against the same people we swore to defend’.
“| have sent countless messages to those purportedly enforcing Sit-at-Home that they are not doing so in my name. | am not begging anybody to release me just that Nigeria should have the decency to obey their own laws”.
“The main issue, which our people should address their minds to is the unconscionable delays in hearing the government appeal at the Supreme Court, which is a situation not amenable to any Sit-at-home. Therefore, sit-at-home is a waste of time, resources and energy’.
“Those who may not understand the genesis of the Sit-at-Home should refer to my younger brother’s press statement on the eve of the commencement of the original order issued by the IPOB family. My brother made a clear to the DOS that I was against the order for people to stay at home under whatever guise. This caused a rift between my siblings and DOS till date.
“Aloy should use the above contributions to form the main body of the press statement. | want our people to know how this whole sit-at-home brouhaha started. Had DOS obeyed my direct instructions to cancel the first Monday sit-athome, opportunistic scavengers would not have jumped on the bandwagon to wreak havoc on our people.”
“You (Aloy) must release the press statement tomorrow with the screenshot of the handwritten note I gave to you unfailingly’.
Signed: Mazi Nnamdi Kanu.”
