No fewer than five members of the Indigenous People of Biafra (IPOB) were feared dead in Onitsha, Anambra State on Thursday while celebrating the release of their leader, Mr Nnamdi Kanu.
An eye witness, Mr Festus Uyanna, told newsmen that the incident occurred as the jubilant group proceeded toward the Bridge Head and were halted by the military joint task force stationed in the hotspot.
Uyanna said the insistence of the IPOB members to converge at the Dim Chukwuemeka Ojukwu gate-way resulted to sporadic shooting during which the task force overpowered them.
“Trouble started when the jubilating IPOB members were asked to stop their march toward the Bridge Head, but the group bluntly refused.
“It was at this juncture that the soldiers started shooting sporadically to scare the crowd,” he said.
Also speaking, the Coordinator of Campaign for Democracy in the South East, a pressure group, Mr Uzor Uzor, said he rushed some injured IPOB members to the hospital.
“I have been here since I heard of the shooting. They were unarmed and wanted to converge at the Dim Chukwuemeka Ojukwu Gate-way when they were asked to turn back but they refused.
“As I am talking to you, five of them are lying dead in various hospitals and we have been following up about 15 others in critical conditions,” he said.
The development resulted to traffic gridlock on major roads in Onitsha while commercial activities were grinded to a halt.
Reacting to the development, an assistant commissioner of police in the state police command, Mr Philip Ezekiel, confirmed that there were deaths from the incident but that he could not ascertain the number.
Ezekiel said that the IPOB members wanted to subdue the task force and take over the Bridge Head but were over-powered by the troops.
“Yes, Onitsha was in crisis in the early part of today, IPOB members attacked the solders at the Bridge Head but they were over-powered.
“There were deaths but I cannot confirm that now because they are not under me but everything is normal now,” he said.
Ezekiel said that normalcy had returned to the commercial city as both human and vehicular traffic were seamless.
He urged members of the public to continue their legitimate engagements as the police were on ground to ensure their security.
Meanwhile, Mr Israel Kanu, the father of the pro-Biafra activist, Nnamdi Kanu, has thanked President Muhammadu Buhari and other Nigerians over the release of his son.
The elder Kanu is the traditional ruler of Afara Ukwu Ibeku Autonomous Community, Umuahia.
He said on Thursday in Umuahia that he was grateful to “well-meaning Nigerians for their prayers and support’’ during Nnamdi’s incarceration.
He added that he was amazed by the goodwill and show of solidarity by Nigerians, especially the pro-Biafra groups, which, he said, “stood by us for the period my son was detained.’’
He said that he was particularly grateful to God that the court acquitted his son of all the charges, including treasonable felony, brought against him.
“My family and the entire people of Afara Ukwu are happy over the release of our son and we shall continue to thank God and Nigerians for this happy event,’’ Kanu said.
The traditional ruler commended the judiciary for proving to be the hope of the common man, saying, “the judiciary applied wisdom in discharging and acquitting my son.’
He called on the pro-Biafra groups to go about their agitation peacefully and without confrontation to the government.
In a related development, Ohanaeze Youth Council (OYC) also hailed the president ‘for listening to the pleas of Ndigbo and progressive Nigerians.’
In a statement made available to NAN, OYC said that Kanu’s release had doused the tension generated by his detention, adding that the development had spared Nigeria of another security challenge.
The statement was signed by the National President and Secretary of the organisation, Okechukwu Isiguzoro and Nnabuike Okwu respectively.
It said that Kanu’s release would go a long way to restore the confidence of Ndigbo in Buhari’s Administration.
“Having released Kanu, the Federal Government should go further and address all the other grievances of the pro-Biafra agitators,’’ the statement said.
According to OYC, the agitators were only protesting against the marginalisation and injustices being meted against Ndigbo.
It cited the poor state of federal roads in the South- East, abandonment of the Enugu coal mine for over 43 years, non-inclusion of Abia and Imo youths in the Niger Delta Amnesty deal, among others as instances of marginalization of Ndigbo.
On his part, the Secretary of the Indigenous Peoples of Biafra (IPOB), Mr Uchenna Madu, described the release of its leader as ‘triumph over injustice, suppression, oppression and subjugation of IPOB.’
The IPOB leader was arrested and detained for allegedly running Radio Biafra, an offence considered treasonable.
Earlier in the day, the Federal High Court in Abuja had ordered the Federal Government to immediately release Kanu, unconditionally.
Ruling on the fundamental rights application filed by Kanu, Justice Adeniyi Ademola held that the continued detention of the applicant breached the constitution.
Ademola said that the continued detention of the applicant without filing charges against him ran contrary to the 1999 Constitution.
“Consequently, the court has no option but to order that Kanu be unconditionally released by the State Security Service, an agent of the government.
“In the light of that, the court’s order of Nov. 10 which gives authority to hold the applicant for 90 days 2015 is set aside,” he said.
Kanu, held by the SSS for up to 90 days over allegations of terrorism and belonging to an unlawful assembly, approached the court for the enforcement of his fundamental human rights.
Chief Magistrate Shauibu Usman of Wuse in Abuja had on Wednesday thrown out a one-count criminal charge brought against Kanu.
The withdrawal of the charge against Kanu at the lower court was at the instance of the Federal Government.
Usman’s ruling was in line with a request by the SSS to drop the charge against the Biafran activist to enable them pursue his trial at the Federal High Court.
The discontinuation of the matter at the magistrates’ court is not unconnected with the court’s jurisdiction on terrorism charges.
The prosecution alleged that Kanu had proclaimed himself as the leader of the “Republic of Biafra” within the country’s territory.
It also argued that the pro-Biafra leader had established a pirate radio network that propagated hateful programmes against the Nigerian state.
However, Mr Vincent Obetta, the counsel to Kanu, argued that the accusations of sponsoring and financing terrorism were misguided.
Obetta argued that the allegations were not supported with any trace of evidence that Kanu was preparing to take up arms against the Nigerian nation.
He urged the court to set aside the order that allowed his client to be detained for 90 days on grounds of the Terrorism Prevention Act 2003.
The Act empowers the court to grant an order to keep a terror suspect in detention without arraignment beyond 24 hours.
