Following the unwarranted invasion of the Isiama Afaraukwu Ibeku Community in Umuahia north local government area of Abia State, on Thursday, members of the community have dissociated themselves from the call for succession as being championed by the leader of the Indigenous People of Biafra (IPOB), Nnamdi Kanu and pledged their support and loyalty to a united and indivisible Nigeria.
Isiama Afaraukwu Ibeku community is the hometown of the IPOB leader, Nnamdi Kanu.
At a press conference organized by the community on Thursday, an elder statesman, Chief Geoffrey Onyemaobi told journalists that the people of Isiama Afaraukwu ibeku were not part of the agitation for sovereign state of Biafra, just as he raised alarm over the invasion of the community by IPOB members.
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He explained that on Wednesday, the community was invaded by members of IPOB, with over five hundred vehicles, which led to heavy traffic jam in the area.
He pointed out that it took him two hours to get Isiama Afaraukwu from the Federal Medical Centre (FMC) junction, Umuahia, appealing to federal and Abia state governments to come to their aid over the invasion of the community by those he referred as ‘outsiders’.
Onyemaobi restated once again that Isiama Afaraukwu ibeku was not supporting break-up of Nigeria, maintaining that they joined other well meaning individuals on the call for Nigeria restructuring.
His words,”They invaded my community, isiama Afaraukwu Ibeku yesterday, that’s on Wednesday.
“There was no space in entire Isiama Afaraukwu. They invaded the community with over five hundred vehicles carrying young boys who have no idea how war looks like, walking around every place in this community.
“The people of the community, including myself could not come out from our compound. They blocked our gates and roads with vehicles. I had to manage to squeeze myself out.
“Coming back, it took me complete two hours from Federal medical Centre (FMC) junction, through Aba road, because they blocked the Golden Guinea Breweries road, I had to take Holy Trinity road, still they blocked it. No space anywhere in Afaraukwu.
“Two hours to get to my compound. Is it what we are going see in this community? We are appealing to government to please come to the aid of this community. We are not part of what is going, I mean, Biafra agitation. We are not part of it.
“The community is being invaded by outsiders. They are invading our community. We are only calling on government to protect us. This is an invasion. One cannot come out of his compound, we have been held inside our compound.
“We are calling on the Abia state and federal government to wake up because what is coming gradually now, might turn to something else.
“We want peace in this community. There is tension everywhere in this country. If they want us to break up this country, this is not the way to go about it; it is by referendum, everybody will sit down and agree.
“But I don’t believe breaking up of this country is the right thing to do. I believe that there must be changes in the polity. I believe the present federal government is listening. Everybody in this country have said we need to restructure Nigeria.
“And we believe if this country is restructured, all these agitations will cease.”
