The Abia State Government has called on pro-Biafra groups, the Indigenous Peoples of Biafra (IPOB) and the Movement for the Sovereign State of Biafra (MASSOB), to discontinue their protest, saying that their message has been well communicated and their voices heard nationally and internationally.

The government said the pro-Biafra groups have made their statement, calling for the release of the Director of Radio Biafra, Mr. Nnamdi Kanu, and this message has reached the highest places of power. “Therefore, they should give peace a chance and wait for the reaction of government,” Godwin Adindu, Chief Press Secretary to Governor Okezie Ikpeazu, said late yesterday.

The call is sequel to the peaceful protest by the group in Umuahia, the state capital, which was well controlled by law enforcement agencies.

The statement observed that though the protest has been largely peaceful in Abia without any incident of violence, it actually disturbed the socio-economic life of the state, hence the need for the pro-Biafra groups to change strategy from street marches to peaceful negotiation with the Federal Government.

The government also noted that the entire South East cannot afford another militancy and therefore urged the groups to discontinue their street marches before the situation is hijacked by troublemakers and detractors of government.

Adindu commended the security agencies for the high professionalism they have exhibited in handling the protest in Abia, which have ensured that the state never recorded any violent incident.

He assured that it will continue to guarantee the freedom of association and expression by persons and groups so long as they operate within the ambit of the law and therefore appealed to the pro-Biafra groups not to conduct themselves in a manner that could lead to the breach of peace.

•Photo shows Governor Ikpeazu.

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