Ipob and Massob vow to ignore intimidation by security forces and mark Biafra Day on May 30

MEMBERS of the Indigenous People of Biafra (Ipob) and the ; Movement for the Actualisation of Sovereign State of Biafra (Massob) have vowed that they will ignore the military build-up and intimidation they are currently facing and mark Biafra Day on May 30.

Both groups had insisted on celebrating Biafra Day on May 30 to celebrate the 52nd declaration of the state of Biafra in 1967. However, their pronouncement has been greeted with suspicion by the government and as such troops and policemen have poured into the southeast geo-political zone, with security agencies warning that anyone caught participating in the event will be treated as a terrorist.

In May 30 1967, former president of the Republic of Biafra Col Odumegwu Ojukwu declared it an independent state, saying it had seceded from Nigeria. This subsequently sparked the Nigeria civil war, which lasted until January 1970 when Biafra was finally defeated and incorporated back into Nigeria.

Despite the government threats, Ipob and Massob have declared that Biafra Day will be celebrated in a unique method to honour nations and bodies that have always identified with the aspirations of the Biafran people. Ipob said threats, lies, propaganda, misinformation, arrests, torture and illegal detention, will only serve to strengthen their resolve to restore Biafra rather than diminish it.

Ipob said it regretted that whereas Biafraland is under siege, with hundreds kidnapped on a daily basis, the Nigeria Army capitulates in front of Boko Haram while it supports the ethnocentric campaign of genocide against the non-northern population of Nigeria. Ipob spokesman Emma Powerful, said: “Biafra remembrance day celebration is on Thursday, May 30 and Biafrans must not come out on that day.

 “It will serve as a reminder to the overlords in Nigeria that we Biafrans are united in our quest to be free from the iniquitous bondage called Nigeria. We owe it to our fallen heroes and heroines to honour them in the finest traditions of Ipob on May 30.

"No matter how many troops they deploy on our streets or how many people they kill or arrest, Biafraland will be locked down on that fateful day. There is nothing the federal government, the police, army and other security apparatus can do to stop or jeopardise May 30 as it will be observed."

Similarly, the coalition of pro-Biafra groups, including Massob, the Eastern Peoples Congress (EPC), Bilie Human Rights Initiative (BHRI) and the Movement of Biafrans in Nigeria (Mobin), have condemned the alleged arrest of over 140 members now remanded inside Enugu Prison and other arrests in Onitsha, involving the killing of  two pro-Biafra activists. They said the arrests, clampdown and killings were illegal, insensitive and ethno religiously motivated.

Massob leader Uchenna Madu, said: “The pro-Biafran groups have unanimously agreed and resolved to jointly observe and celebrate the 52nd  anniversary of Biafra declaration by our foremost leader, Dim Chukwuemeka Odumegwu Ojukwu on May 30, 1967. We will observe the day in a unique form that will attract the presence of notable indigenous leaders of ethnic nationalities in Biafraland.

"We plan to honour and celebrate the heroic exploits of our gallant Biafra soldiers and other individuals that have contributed immensely towards the progress of Biafra. We shall also honour other individuals, friendly nations and organisations that assisted immensely for the survival of the people of Biafra.

“The May 30 anniversary convention will also attract notable Biafran leaders from Ikot Ekpene, Ijawland, Igbo, Calabar and Bakassi people. There shall be special prayers and supplication for the fallen Biafra heroes during the civil war and our comrades that were killed by security agents including the people of Biafra that died in the hands of Boko Haram and herdsmen."