By Nkerumwen Cosmas, Lagos
The Independent People of Biafra, IPOB has rejected the described the withdrawal of the October 1 quit notice to the Igbo by the Arewa Youths, describing it as ‘inconsequential’.
According to a statement by the Media and Publicity Secretary, Comrade Emma Powerful, IPOB, “the Arewa youths should ‘stick to the quit notice’, if they have any ‘honour’.
He said; “It is inconsequential to IPOB whether the ‘quit notice’ was rescinded or not because it will in no way impact the pace and direction of our effort to restore Biafra.
“Threats don’t have any effect on us, so our advice to the Arewa North is to please stick to the October 1 deadline or else they have no honour.
“We urge all southerners in the core North to return home before October 1 as history will most definitely repeat itself.
“Southerners were massacred in the pogroms of 1966 and 1967 after similar assurances were issued then that people should remain in the North.
“The presence of a serving governor and senator of the Federal Republic of Nigeria during the supposed press briefing confirms what we have always known that the incitement to genocide, which is what the ‘quit notice’ is all about, has the blessing of the Arewa political class.
“If President Muhammadu Buhari is at all serious about clamping down on hate speech, he should arrest those behind the ‘quit notice’ along with their sponsors,” IPOB said.
“Trying to drag the name of our leader, Mazi Nnamdi Kanu, into their unintelligent blood fest will be resisted.
“If the idea is to cow our leader with calls for his arrest, then those behind the genocidal edict of ‘Igbos must leave the North’ are even dumber than we thought.
“Nigeria is crumbling today before our eyes due to the arrest of Mazi Nnamdi Kanu; those wishing for him to be arrested again are basically signing the death warrant of Nigeria,”
Areawa Youths at their news conference yesterday
Yesterday, the coalition of Arewa youths composed of 14 groups had signed and detailed a spokesman from among them, Alhaji Abdul-Azeez Suleiman of the Northern Emancipation Network to read the text of the press conference.
Abdul-Azeez had said, “Most significance was our correspondence with the then Acting President, Prof. Yemi Osinbajo and most recently our interface with the Presidency through the Special Assistant to the President on Political Matters, Babafemi Ojudu.
“As a consequence of these vigorous engagements and as a cultured people with a tradition of respect for our nation’s values, leaders and elders, we are today pleased to announce the immediate suspension of the relocation clause otherwise referred to as the quit notice from the Kaduna Declaration.”
He however added that the group would still pursue its petition to the United Nations and called on the Federal Government to Nnamdi Kanu, leader of IPOB.
He equally called “for the arrest of Nnamdi Kanu and for his appropriate prosecution while calling on the Senate to demand that all senators who stood surety for him in court should rescind their bond or be suspended accordingly.”
The group further promised to “remain available for further interaction with other groups including those from the South-East with a view to building a greater united Nigeria.”
