The Indigenous People of Biafra (IPOB) have reaffirmed that the current South-East Monday sit-at-home is a Ndigbo protest over the continuous detention of their leader, Mazi Nnamdi Kanu, rather than a mandate.
IPOB denied allegations that it is implementing the weekly shutdown in a statement sent by Emma Powerful, the party’s media and publicity secretary. The group maintained that the civil action can only be terminated by Kanu’s unconditional release.
While disregarding the true problem—the yearning for justice and self-determination—IPOB charged that the Nigerian government was sullying its reputation through intimidation and extortion.
IPOB Rejects Claims and Demands Kanu’s Release
“As a disciplined self-determination movement that has long distanced itself from the Nigerian military and government, the noble family and movement of the Indigenous People of Biafra, IPOB, worldwide wish to categorically notify them that they cannot blackmail IPOB and the Eastern Security Network (ESN) with Monday sit-at-home,” the statement said.
IPOB emphasized that Nnamdi Kanu’s unconditional release is the only way to halt the sit-at-home protests. According to the group, Kanu’s imprisonment is being used against Ndigbo as an instrument of oppression, which is encouraging further resistance.
The Function of ESN in Preserving Biafra Land
The statement emphasized the Eastern Security Network’s (ESN) contribution to Ndigbo safety, asserting that their action had stopped state-sponsored terrorists from transforming the area into a “mass grave.”
ESN agents are suffering greatly as a result of stopping terrorists who pose as ranchers. The goal of the Nigerian government and military’s continuous targeting and blackmailing of ESN is to eliminate all Biafran defenses. According to the group, ESN is still Ndigbo’s last line of defense.
IPOB claims that despite the Nigerian military’s inability to defend native tribes from terrorist attacks nationwide, they are still determined to crush IPOB and ESN.
The government is allegedly using sit-at-home orders to undermine IPOB.
IPOB said that the Nigerian police and army were deliberately using the sit-at-home demonstrations as a means of undermining the movement.
They claimed that in order to give the impression that IPOB is responsible for the disturbances, security personnel have begun making arrests of young men on Mondays in rural areas.
“In the name of enforcing a sit-at-home that IPOB had already suspended, the Nigerian government hired heartless criminals known as Autopiloters to pose as IPOB and ESN, kill, and destroy.” The organization claimed that their goal was to deceive Ndigbo into thinking that IPOB was ruining their economy.
Today, Sitting at Home Is a Sign of Opposition to Injustice
The group maintains that Ndigbo have freely decided to observe the Monday sit-at-home as an act of resistance, despite the government’s efforts to discredit IPOB.
Following its first successful compliance, the IIPOB started and discontinued the Monday sit-at-home program. The Nigerian Army and Police are involved in the harsh implementation of the sit-at-home, which we have consistently denounced. Nonetheless, Ndigbo people who choose to spend Mondays at home do so out of support for Mazi Nnamdi Kanu, our leader who has been unlawfully kidnapped and imprisoned,” the statement continued.
Attempts to Quiet the Movement Are Rejected by IPOB
IPOB reiterated that the Nigerian government had long mistreated the Igbo people politically, socially, and economically, and that no amount of threats or military action could persuade Ndigbo to give up their cause.
“It is impossible for the Nigerian Army to defeat IPOB with gunfire and extortion, thus they should abandon the plan. The core idea of IPOB is one of survival. The group said that the IPOB ideology is strengthened by Nigeria’s continued rejection and oppression of Ndigbo.
Demand Conversation and the Release of Kanu
Instead of employing military intimidation, the statement called on the administration to have genuine discussions. It made the case that addressing the underlying issue—Nnamdi Kanu’s ongoing detention—is the only way to actually put an end to the sit-at-home protests.
“The Nigerian military should concentrate on actual security threats rather than attempting to stifle a voluntary, non-violent civil action,” stated IPOB. To gain the trust of its people, any responsible administration would hold talks, but in Nigeria, military coercion and force are used in every situation.
In closing, IPOB said that blackmailing IPOB and ESN would not alter the people’s desire and urged the Nigerian government and Southeast governors to free Nnamdi Kanu if they truly wanted the Monday sit-at-home to cease.
