Nnamdi Kanu warns that there will be no elections in southeast until Biafra referendum is called

INDIGENOUS People of Biafra (Ipob) leader Nnamdi Kanu has threatened that elections will not be permitted across southeastern Nigeria until the government holds a referendum on allowing Igbos to secede from Nigeria.

Over the last two years, calls for the recreation of the independent state of Biafra have grown, with large demonstrations being held demanding that the southeast be allowed to secede. Mr Kanu, has become the public image of the campaign after being detained for about two years and although he is out on bail, he still faces treason charges.

On November 18, Anambra State goes to the polls to elect a new governor and Mr Kanu has warned that elections will not be allowed to hold unless a referendum on Biafra is allowed. He added that subsequent elections will not be allowed either and if they are held, they will be boycotted by the people of the southeast.

Mr Kanu said: “If the federal government does not agree with us on a date for referendum, there will be no elections in the southeast. We are starting with Anambra come November this year, so there will be no governorship election in Anambra State.

"In 2019, the whole of Biafraland will not vote for any president. There will be no senator, there will be no House of Representatives, there will be no House of Assembly and there will be no councillorship elections in Biafra land if they fail to call for a referendum."

In granting him bail in April after more than a year in detention, Justice Nyako listed 12 conditions, including an order for Mr Kanu to avoid being seen in a crowd of more than 10 people. In addition, the court also instructed that he desist from granting interviews or engaging in any form of rallies as part of his bail conditions.

However, in a 16 minute 21 seconds video posted on Youtube, Mr Kanu was seen speaking to a congregation of Biafran supporters. At the gathering, he said there would be no form of elections in the southeast come 2019, stressing that he would not relent in his agitation for Biafra.

“Nigeria's government should build as many prisons as possible to jail all Biafrans because there is no going back and we are ready to go there unless the federal government gives us Biafra. We are not like any other people as people like us don’t come twice, which is why I know that with the last breath in this very body that Biafra will be restored.

"There’s nothing anybody can do about it. Tell them that’s what I said , nobody on this earth can stop Biafra,” Mr Kanu added.

Since he was freed, he has not only addressed hundreds of his supporters but has also granted media interviews. Last month, while addressing the members of the Jewish Synagogue at his residence in Umuahia in Abia State, Mr Kanu declared that the coming of the Republic of Biafra was imminent.