Soldiers have reportedly blocked the entrance of the family residence of Nnamdi Kanu, leader of the Indigenous People of Biafra (IPOB), ahead of his parents’ burial.

Amnesty International (AI) quoted residents as saying the soldiers are also harassing residents in the area ahead of the funeral scheduled for Friday.

TheCable could not immediately verify claims about the blockade but gathered that there is indeed a heavy security presence in Afara Ukwu, Kanu’s community.

In a statement on Wednesday, AI said it gathered from some persons that “they saw soldiers harassing people at Bank road while another man said he was prevented from going to his house by soldiers who blocked the road entrance to Eze Kanu’s palace.”

Osai Ojigho, Amnesty director in Nigeria, called for caution and asked the security agencies to “deescalate the rising tension” in the Abia community.

“The Nigerian security forces must exercise restraint and prevent a repetition of the September 2017 events that left at least 20 people killed and some still missing, when the military attempted to arrest Nnamdi Kanu in his home in Afara Ukwu”, Ojigho said.

“While law enforcement officers are within their rights to carry out their lawful duties, the use of force should be proportional and strictly limited to those situations where it is absolutely necessary. Both IPOB supporters and security forces must at all times respect and protect human rights of all.

“Concerns about possible violence during the funeral must be addressed within the framework of human rights and the rule of law.”
Since the burial was announced, there has been a hot exchange between the police and IPOB, which was banned and declared a terrorist organisation last year.

While the group has insisted on attending the event, Ene Okon, Abia commissioner of police, has vowed that the funeral would not take place if IPOB members attempt to attend it.

Kanu, who has been on the run since 2017, is, not contemplating attending, but said the burial will be broadcast live.

The Federal Government on Thursday re-arraigned Sahara Reporters publisher, Omoyele Sowore, and his co-defendant, Olawale Bakare, on amended charges of treasonable felony and conspiracy.

The prosecution accused them of planning a protest tagged #RevolutionNow aimed at toppling the regime of the President, Major General Muhammadu Buhari (retd.).

The amendment of the charges reduced the original seven counts to two.

Charges of money laundering and cyberstalking Buhari by abusing him contained in the old charges have been removed in the newly filed charges.

Both Sowore and Bakare again pleaded not guilty to the two counts of conspiracy and treasonable felony.

The prosecution has complied with an order of the court directing it to pay the sum of N200,000 to the defendants as the cost for delaying the trial on Wednesday.

Justice Ijeoma Ojukwu, who was displeased with the prosecution’s handling of the case on Wednesday, had made the payment of the money to the defendants as a precondition to entertain the case on Thursday.

Earlier, before the defendants were made to take their pleas on Thursday, the lead prosecuting counsel, Mr Aminu Alilu, confirmed that the payment had been paid to the defendants on Wednesday.

He also applied that the amended two counts newly filed against the defendants on February 10, 2020, be substituted with the old charges filed on September 20, 2019.

He said, “As a law-abiding officer of the Attorney-General of the Federation, we have complied with my lord’s order regarding the cost and supply of some materials to the defence.

“We have the evidence of payment before my lord and it can be confirmed by the defence.

“Having said that, we will be applying for the substitution of an earlier charge filed on September 20, 2019, but dated September 19, 2019, to be substituted with two counts amended information dated February 10, 2020, and filed on February 11, 2020.”

Responding, defence counsel, Mr Abdul Mahmud, confirmed that the N200,000 cost was paid to the defence through the bank account of a senior member of the team, Mr Olayinka Olumide-Fusika, SAN, on Wednesday.

The apex Igbo socio-cultural organisation, Ohanaeze Ndigbo, as well as some religious leaders on Wednesday called on the Federal Government to allow the South-East to establish their security outfit to be known as Operation Ogbunigwe.

This is just as the governors of the zone adopted the community policing programme of the Nigeria Police Force for the zone.

The two parties spoke at the end of South-East Security Summit held in Enugu with the theme, ‘Strategic Partnership for effective Community Policing in the South East Geo-Political Zone.’

The Chairman of the South-East Governors’ Forum and Governor of Ebonyi State, Chief David Umahi, who read the position of the governors at the end of the summit organised by the Nigeria Police, said that they were satisfied with the strategies for the implementation of the community policing programme in the zone.

Umahi said, “We reached a satisfactory and acceptable decision and agreement.

“The IG’s presentation was not different from “our neighbourhood watch, our vigilante operation and forests guard, the herdsmen and farmers peace community among others. “When we saw that this is totally in tandem with what we are doing, we decided as your governors to embrace the initiative of community policing.”

But the President General of Ohanaeze Ndigbo, Chief Nnia Nwodo, appealed to the Federal Government to allow the South-East to establish their own security to take care of their challenges and peculiarities.

Nwodo said, “Mr IGP, our farms have been devastated and the herders that devastated our farms carry AK-47 rifles. You cannot be talking about community policing when the people you want to supervise, you do not understand their language.

“Your legal architecture doesn’t take into consideration that our governors, by the constitution, are the chief security officers of their various states, and this gives them the responsibility to protect the lives and property of their citizens.  So when you begin to talk about recruitment, with the commander and control, and you do not share with the governors and representatives at the local areas this command and control and recruitment, this exercise is dead on arrival.”

Addressing the stakeholders on community policing programme, the Inspector General Police, Adamu said, “The community policing model is one that will draw on the legal opportunities provided by the Police Act for the engagement of special constables who will be engaged as community policing officers under the coordination of the Nigeria Police Force toward evolving a community-focused policing architecture.”

The leader of the Indigenous People of Biafra, IPOB, Nnamdi Kanu has apologized for threatening the children of the Abia State Commissioner of Police, Ene Okon and other Nigerian officials.

The IPOB leader had few days ago threatened that his group will hunt down the children of Okon, and other police officers should they bring any harm to members of the pro-Biafra group during his parents’ burial which is billed to take place on February 14th.

Kanu released the apology note via his handle on micro-blogging site, Twitter on Wednesday.

Admitting that he went too far, Kanu said that his intention was only to bring global awareness to the threats and imminent danger the Government has placed on his family and community.

Read his apology below.

“This Friday, mourners in Biafra will come together to attend the funeral for my beloved parents, Eze Israel Okwu Kanu and Ugoeze Sally Nmenme Kanu.

“During this time of mourning, the Indigenous People of #Biafra are living in a constant state of fear.

“The Abia State Commissioner of Police is threatening to disrupt the funeral and there continues to be a large military presence in the area, which has a history of inflicting violence against the #IPOB

“This has caused a range of emotions for me. I have now gone from an extreme sense of sadness after losing both of my parents, to an extreme sense of anger knowing that the mourners are in grave danger.

“In this time of immense grieving and anger, I made threats against the children of the Police Commissioner and other Nigerian officials on my radio program, Radio Biafra.

“This was wrong and I sincerely apologize. Children should always be off limits.

“It was my intention to bring global awareness to the threats and imminent danger the Government has placed on my family and community in hopes that shining a global spotlight on the actions of the Government will prevent them from inciting violence against my people.

“In doing so, I went too far.

“It is my great hope that the Indigenous People of Biafra can mourn in peace on Friday and can live in peace every single day forward.”