CHUKWUDI ACHIFE, Enugu, EMMA OGU, Owerri, ALPHONSUS NWEZE, Onitsha, VINCENT ADEKOYE, Benin, CAJETAN MMUTA, Asaba and HENRY MONG, Lagos
THE Inosi Onira Onitsha, Anambra State residence of Nigeria’s first President, late Dr. Nnamdi Azikiwe was burnt down yesterday by suspected members of the Movement for the Actualisation of the Sovereign State of Biafra (MASSOB) protesting the arrest of their leader, Chief Ralph Uwazuruike.
Three buildings and a Peugeot car were torched during the raid on the compound which houses the abandoned Dr. Nnamdi Azikiwe Mausoleum.
MASSOB has denied the charge, claiming that state agents may have taken advantage of their peaceful protest to raze the late sage’s home.
The protest in Onitsha was part of larger demonstrations staged by hundreds of MASSOB members in Asaba, Delta State, Enugu, Benin and Owerri which grounded business activities and disrupted vehicular movements for hours in the affected cities.
Speaking on the arson, the Owelle of Onitsha, Chief Chukwuma Azikiwe told Daily Champion in a telephone interview that he ran for dear life upon sighting the invading suspected MASSOB members.
He said although no life was lost, his visitor simply identified as Deboer sustained injury during the invasion.
In his reaction to the incident, MASSOB Director of Information, Mr. Uchenna Madu said his members were not responsible for the arson.
He accused agents of the Federal Government of capitalising on the demonstrations to burn the buildings.
MASSOB, he noted has tremendous respect for Dr. Azikiwe and his role in the development of the country and Ndigbo in particular.
Meanwhile, a witness who pleaded anonymity said that policemen stationed at the entrance of the residence shot into the air as the MASSOB protesters were approaching the Borromeo round about, which provoked them.
They made for the policemen who were said to have ran into the building, and demanded that they should be produced, but they were told that the policemen were not in the building.
This was said to have irked the protesters, who now torched the buildings of Dr Nnamdi Azikiwe, which is a national monument.
When contacted on telephone, the Onitsha Area Commander, Mr. Dennis Anyagafu, said that he was not ready to talk to the press on the issue for now.
All effort to get the Anambra State Commissioner of Police, Mr. Felix Ogbaudu, was abortive, as his telephone numbers were not going through.
Elsewhere, for several hours the busy Onitsha Bridgehead up to Borromeo Roundabout was cut-off from people entering and exiting the commercial town of Anambra State following massive protest by the MASSOB against the continued detention of their leader, Chief Ralph Uwazuruike.
For about six hours, starting from 8.am up to about 2pm business activities and vehicular movements in the ever busy Bridgehead to Borromeo Junction of the Onitsha-Enugu expressway were stalled.
MASSOB members largely made up of youths, with aged people and women stormed the busy expressway, blocking all movements and chanting anti-Federal Government songs.
The MASSOB members, most of them wearing the black, red, and green flag, made bonfires with old motor tyres along the road, while some carried placards, which read "Nigeria; abduction of Uwazurike is inhuman", "freedom is sure, Obasanjo is a terrorist, we are Biafrans not Nigerians, Obasanjo, please release Chief Uwazuruike, stop the killing of MASSOB members now.
Addressing the mammoth crowd of MASSOB members, the Chief Area Administrator, Onitsha Province, Chief Venatus Muoneke, said the arrest of Uwazuruike is another opportunity for the world and international community to see the indignities meted to the people of the former Eastern Nigeria which now want Biafra Republic, alleging that the Federal Government has been arresting and killing MASSOB members.
Meanwhile, MASSOB members yesterday also staged a peaceful demonstration in Benin, Edo State capital demanding the immediate release of their leader, by security operatives.
Though the demonstration was brief and peaceful, it brought to a halt commercial activities in some of the major streets and public places in the state capital as members of MASSOB generously distributed various denominations of the defunct Biafra currency to people on the streets thereby eliciting more supports from resident of the city.
The well organized protest commenced at about 8.45 am from the Upper Mission end of the new Benin area of the Edo State capital.
Addressing members of the Movement at the ever busy Victory junction along Costain road, Benin, Edo State coordinator of the body Mr. Rufus Alozie alleged that their leader was abducted by agents of the government of Nigeria without any charge preferred against him.
"We are on the streets this morning because our leader was abducted forcefully by some persons identified to be agent of the government of Nigeria.
"Chief Raph is a non violents man who has continued to maintain peace despite series of provocations.
"Well, our demand is very simple, we are demanding for his immediate release and if the abductors are of the view that he has committed any offence, they should charge him to court instead of this continued detention.
"We want the entire World to know that since we started our struggle on the 13th December 1999, we have constantly maintained peace and we will continue to do this. No amount of intimidation and threat of arrest can make us to drop our vision, we will continue to grow stronger daily like the Hebrews who were daily being oppressed by the Egyptians" Mr. Alozie stated.
Other members of the movement who spoke to newsmen included Pastor Livinus Asibe, Mr. Ikechukwu Agu.
Meanwhile, MASSOB members numbering over 800 who stormed the Niger bridge head at about 9.30 a.m with a 911 lorry with which they blocked the lone route to motorists and made bonfires at the centre of the road, later disguised themselves as passengers and entered the Ibusa road area in Asaba, Delta State capital with placards. The group in their protest condemned the arrest and detention of Chief Uwazurike whose fate they maintained was unjustifiable and abuse of his fundamental human rights in the hands of the Federal Government.
They posited that the arrest of their leader was an attempt to further humiliate Ndigbo and insist that Biafra republic must be allowed as they would not relent in their agitation for its realization.
The tension caused by the early morning protest also prompted the state command to dispatch its patrol teams on police motorbikes and vans to intensify search for the fleeing members of the body. Confirming the incident, the Police Public Relations Officer (PPRO) in the State Miss Olabisi Okwuwobi said however that no arrest had been made and that everywhere was calm.
"We (Police) learnt that some MASSOB members were protesting the arrest of their leader Uwazuruike in Abuja. So they blocked the Anambra part of the Niger bridge head, stopped vehicles from getting to Anambra State. Though they tried to enter into Delta State twice but our policemen that were drafted there did not allow them to come in.
As at now everywhere is calm, we don’t have any of them now", she said.
Similarly, hundreds of women and scores of their male counterparts marched through the streets of Enugu on Monday in protest against the arrest and continued detention of Chief Uwazuruike, by the SSS.
Uwazuruike was arrested in his country home at Okwe in Imo State by SSS men disguised as youth corpers.
The protesters who carried placards denouncing the Obasanjo administration and the SSS also chanted Biafran war songs and held up traffic and economic and social activities wherever they passed throughout the city.
One of the protesting women told the Daily Champion that they were volunteers fro m different communities in the state who had heeded a call to demonstrate against what they saw as another effort to victimize the Igbo and deny them their basic rights.
She said the protests would continue until the federal authorities released Uwazuruike and stopped the harassment of former Biafran leader Dim Chukwuemeka Odumegwu Ojukwu and other Igbo leaders.
"We, the women decided to demonstrate against the injustice being done to our son Uwazuruike and his followers. We want to show the government that they can’t kill our harmless children who are only demanding justice and get away with it, if they should kill our children they should be ready to kill us too", she said.
The rank of the protesters swelled from street to street as many bystanders joined them in the demonstration that went virtually unchallenged by the police or other security agencies.
Addressing the demonstrators, Enugu Provincial Administrator of MASSOB Chief Ekwe Ikechukwu said the protest would continue until Uwazuruike was released adding that the MASSOB leader had done nothing to deserve his current incarceration.
"We are not against anybody becoming what he wants, Uwazuruike is fighting a just cause in a civilized way. Nobody has killed all those looting the country. Uwazuruike has not killed anybody and why should they hold him".
Ikechukwu said the organization had concluded plans to embark on a stay-at-home exercise to press for his release adding that the group had other strategies to work with in case the protest failed.
Women had led protests against Uwazuruike’s detention last weekend at Onitsha and there are indications that the demonstrations may spread throughout the major cities of the southeast.
Meanwhile, commercial activities came to a stand still for hours in Owerri and suburb yesterday as members of MASSOB protested demanding immediate release of their detained leader.
The demonstrators mainly aged men and women displayed placards and chanted pro-Biafran songs as they moved from street to street daring members of the State Security Services and police to shoot them.
Some of the placards read: "SSS leave Uwazuruike alone, enough is enough," we are sons of Biafra no more no less, Federal Government leave our leader, Uwazuruike "Can Obasanjo tell MASSOB the reason why he arrested Uwazuruike."
After protesting along the major streets in the city, the group poured into Rotibi Street where the major National Dailies have their regional offices and displayed their various placards to residents.
Meanwhile the recent arrest and detention of Chief Uwazuruike, the leader of MASSOB, has been described by "Biafran royal fathers" as contempt of court and condemnable.
The Biafran Royal Fathers Forum under the leadership of Chief Ezeudo Ibe reminded President Olusegun Obasanjo in a recent press statement that the continued arrest and detention of Chief Uwazuruike and his "non violent" followers amounted to contravention of Owerri Federal High Court judgement which they said had earlier granted Uwazuruike and his MASSOB members freedom to exercise their fundamental human rights.
The royal fathers wondered why the Federal Government should persistently be on the trrail of MASSOB members "who have not deviated from their early philosophy to achieve freedom through non violence".
Over 315 members of the body, the elders said, have in recent time been arrested at various points within Anambra and Imo States. "The State Security Services (SSS) arrested 113 members of MASSOB in Imo State at different locations. 89 members were arrested at Okwe when they were holding their monthly meeting. 37 in Owerri, 22 at Mbaise, 19 at Orlu, 13 at Ideato, 6 at Obowo and 16 at Aguata. All these innocent freedom fighters are being held at various prisons across the nation."
Just on September 7, 2005 about 6 MASSOB members were killed at Onitsha when they were carrying out non violent protest against incessant raiding of MASSOB headquarters at Okigwe, Imo State," the elders complained, alleging that those killings were done by the police and the army at the instance of the Presidency.
The royal fathers said they condemn in strong terms the arrest and detention of Chief Uwazuruike. "To this end, we the Biafran elders appeal to world leaders including Nelson Mandela, Tom Mbeki, George W. Bush, Tony Blair, Pope Benedict XVI and Kofi Anan to prevail on President Obasanjo to release unconditionally, Chief Uwazuruike and other MASSOB prisoners of conscience without further delay.
quote:The protest in Onitsha was part of larger demonstrations staged by hundreds of MASSOB members in Asaba, Delta State, Enugu, Benin and Owerri which grounded business activities and disrupted vehicular movements for hours in the affected cities.
Someone needs to tell these MASSOB trouble makers to stay away from Enugu city and Enugu State. They also need to stay away from Onitsha and the rest of Anambra State. MASSOB is an Imo thing and should remain that, in my opinion.
___________________ Feel me? Ofu onye ana asi unu abia go. - Ednut Igbo-American . www.airamericaradio.com visit her. Posts: 2447 | From: Mother Earth | Registered: Mar 2001
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No Biafra, I am serious. These people need to spend their energy at productive work for their own betterment. Why block roads and burn down houses, why?
___________________ Feel me? Ofu onye ana asi unu abia go. - Ednut Igbo-American . www.airamericaradio.com visit her. Posts: 2447 | From: Mother Earth | Registered: Mar 2001
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Zik's House: Arsonists Are Not Igbo-Ojukwu From Charles Onyekamuo in Akwa, 11.12.2005
Leader of the defunct Biafran Republic, Dim Chukwuemeka Odumegwu-Ojukwu has expressed doubts that the arsonists who razed the Inosi-Onira home of the Late Dr. Nnamdi Azikiwe last Monday were Igbos maintaining that no Igbo would carry out such a dastardly act against the late sage. Speaking at the weekend when he visited the Inosi-Onira home of the Azikiwes, which was razed during a clash between members of the Movement for the Actualization of the Sovereign State of Biafra (MASSOB) and the police, Ojukwu said even if the perpetrators were Igbo, they would not go unpunished. The Ikemba, who arrived the expansive Inosi-Onira compound of the Azikiwes in the company of former Information Minister, Chief John Nnia Nwodo, and a retinue of aides and associates at about 1:30 pm was received by Zik’s first son, Chief Chukwuma Azikiwe, the Owelle of Onitsha. He expressed regrets on sighting the remnants of what used to be magnificent buildings in the compound and the carcasses of vehicles burnt in the course of the clash and declared: “I don’t believe Igbos did this; but if it is eventually found out that the perpetrators of this dastardly act are Igbos, they will not go unpunished”. Chukwuma later guided him on an inspection of the extent of destruction inflicted on the buildings inside the compound. Thereafter, Ojukwu went straight to the mausoleum where the remains of the late sage were interred in 1996, and looking skywards prayed to God not to forsake the Igbos but to cuddle them as his children, forgive them their sins and ensure that the kind of mayhem visited on the compound of the late Zik does not repeat itself. “We stand with a brother (Zik) after your heart and ask, why did you leave us in this condition. We plead with you to forgive us. We are your children. We don’t understand please teach us. “I pray that this kind of thing will not happen again. Help us to love ourselves so that this kind of thing doesn’t happen again, and that henceforth, the Igbos will continue to do good things, and that all the Igbos no matter how difficult it might seem must follow the footsteps of Zik”, he prayed at Zik’s graveside. Nwodo, on his part, described the arson as an unjustifiable aggression and a disgrace to Igbo values and culture. He prayed God to forgive those who perpetrated the act. Senator Joy Emodi (Anambra North), a native of Onitsha who also came to sympathize with the Azikiwes over the arson said it was an abomination of the highest order done to a great nationalist. She expressed the sympathy of the entire Senate over the incident, and said that the Senate President, Chief Ken Nnamani who was away in Korea also sent his sympathy and will visit personally upon his return. She urged both the Federal and the Anambra Sate governments to work to fish out the perpetrators of the arson and bring them to justice. She however, prayed to God to forgive the perpetrators, who she described as “rascals” because they didn’t know what they did. Zik’s eldest son, Chukwuma, said Nigeria will only succeed in a situation of mutual respect, tolerance and brotherliness. “It will be good for Igbos, good for Nigeria and the entire black race”, he prayed and thanked God that none of those injured in the compound during the police/MASSOB clash died. “None died”, he said; adding it was an evidence that God recognized and welcomed his father’s life of compromise, accommodation, love, and life without bitterness. He also praised Senator Emodi for being a humble and worthy ambassador of Onitsha kingdom and for rendering service to the people of Anambra North Senatorial district since she became a Senator.
___________________ Biafra is inevitable.Illegitimis nil carborundum. Posts: 760 | From: europe | Registered: Jan 2005
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