By NOAH BANJO

The Indigenous People of Biafra, on Thursday, denied that it called for a boycott of the Anambra governorship election scheduled for Saturday, November 6.

This comes after the group ordered a sit-at-home in protest of the arrest and detention of its leader, Nnamdi Kanu, which calls for his immediate release.

The group made it known in a statement signed by its Director of Media and Publicity, Emma Powerful, that IPOB did not call for an election boycott, disassociating the group from the process.

The statement read, “We wish to reiterate that IPOB did not at any time issue an order or call for the boycott of the said election contrary to misconceptions in certain quarters. IPOB has nothing to do with the Anambra election. Nobody should therefore link us with the election. The freedom of our leader is what matters to us and we don’t need distractions.”

“The priority of IPOB is to secure the unconditional release of our Leader, Mazi Nnamdi Kanu who has been illegally detained since his rendition to Nigeria. All we said was that if by November 4 those who abducted, renditioned, and illegally detained him fail to release him unconditionally, Biafrans shall embark on civil disobedience of a one-week sit-at-home beginning from November 5 to November 10.

“This action has nothing to do with the Anambra election. We are not concerned if anyone wishes to participate or not to participate in the Anambra election. But our only advice to Ndi Anambra, especially those contemplating voting, is to be very careful about their security.

The proscribed group stated that it had not asked anyone to enforce sit-at-home orders adding that a voice note purportedly emanating from it, which warned hoteliers in Anambra State to close their doors, is false.

“We want to categorically state that IPOB has not asked anybody to monitor or enforce compliance to any sit-at-home as this is unnecessary because Biafrans willingly and consciously obey IPOB’s call for Sit-At-Home.

“Our people are all fed up with their suffering and oppressive conditions imposed upon us by the contraption called Nigeria and do not need any persuasion to do the needful.

“We also wish to totally dissociate IPOB from a viral voice note warning hotel owners in Anambra to shut down from November 4. The said voice note never emanated from IPOB. It’s another handiwork of our oppressors in their desperation to implicate IPOB. We, therefore, urge members of the public to discountenance such rubbish. IPOB under Nnamdi Kanu is not the author,” the statement added. (The PUNCH)

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