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LEADER of the Indigenous People of Biafra (IPOB) Nnamdi Kanu has ordered Simon Ekpa to end all sit-at-home in the South-East.

Kanu, currently in the Department Of State Services (DSS) custody, also directed Finland-based Ekpa to stop antagonising South-East governors or politicians from the region.

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In a hand-written order, Kanu asked Ekpa, his self confessed disciple, to immediately terminate the flagrant sit-at-home orders that have paralysed the South-East region.

He warned that anyone enforcing sit-at-home in the South-East is not his disciple and should be made to face the wrath of the law.

Kanu issued the directive in a message made public on Friday, July 28, in Enugu, by his Special Counsel, Aloy Ejimakor.

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“Simon, this is a direct order from me. I hereby instruct you to desist from calling for any sit-at-home henceforth. Equally, refrain from antagonising governors or persons in political positions because you are not in a position to know what they are doing on my behalf.

“I am ordering you to make a public announcement to the effect that you are in receipt of a direct order from me to cancel any pending sit-at-home in place at the moment.

“I embarked on this movement to liberate our people, not to enslave them. I despise and will despise any person or entity that wishes to inflict unnecessary hardship on our people. I have authorised Aloy to issue a press statement if you fail to make this announcement on your platform,” the order reads.

Kanu added that anyone still engaging in sit-at-home is not his disciple.

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“Haters of Biafra and mindless murderers in uniform are hiding under the cover of combating enforcers of sit-at-home to unleash mayhem against the same people we swore to defend.

“I have sent countless messages to those purportedly enforcing sit-at-home that they are not doing so in my name. I am not begging anybody to release me, just that Nigeria should have the decency to obey their own laws.

“The main issue which our people should address their minds to is the unconscionable delays in hearing the government appeal at the Supreme Court, which is a situation not amenable to any sit-at-home. Therefore sit-at-home is a waste of time, resources and energy,” Kanu added.

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Ejimakor stated that the direct order issued to Simon Ekpa was personally handed to him by Kanu when he visited him on July 24, 2023, at the headquarters of the Department of State Services (DSS) in Abuja.

“Later that day, I tried to contact Mazi Simon Ekpa via his WhatsApp number but could not reach him until 1:44 am the following day (25th July 2023), whereupon I snapped the Direct Order as written and sent it to him. He thereafter acknowledged receipt, and we spoke briefly on it and exchanged a couple of text messages thereof.

“Since that early 25th July 2023 (when I conveyed the Order to Mazi Ekpa and he duly acknowledged it) he has not implemented the Order or otherwise made such announcement on his media platform. Nonetheless, I made a conscious decision to give him the benefit of doubt and thereby accord him more time to do the needful.

“Then, late yesterday (Thursday), further written Instructions was issued by Mazi Nnamdi Kanu to me, referring to the extant Direct Order to Mazi Ekpa and, in addition, instructing me that given that Mazi Ekpa has not carried out the Order, I must, as of today, being 28th July 2023, proceed to make the Order public through a Public Announcement/Press Statement. In the said further Instructions, Mazi Nnamdi Kanu added more pertinent details and instructed that I must equally make them public,” Ejimakor said.

Ekpa recently announced that there will be a two-week sit-at-home in Nigeria’s South-East region from July 31.

In a tweet on Tuesday, July 11, Ekpa also demanded the immediate and unconditional release of Kanu, who was arrested and detained for charges bordering on terrorism, treasonable felony, managing an unlawful society, and publication of defamatory matter.

“Following the demand by the Biafra people for more sit-at-home civil disobedience, the Biafra Republic Government In-Exile (BRGIE) and Biafra De Facto Government In Homeland wish to notify Biafrans that there will be a sit-at-home civil disobedience starting from 31 July 2023 to 14 August 2023,” Ekpa said.

Ekpa warned that failure to comply with the order will attract ‘heavy consequences’.

“From Monday, 7th August to Friday, 11 August, there will be total lockdown in Biafraland, while on Saturday, 12 August and Sunday, 13 August 2023, there will be a break as all Biafran markets will open.

“On Monday, 14 August, there will be lockdown in Biafraland. We hereby call on all market leaders to strictly adhere to this order and treat it with utmost seriousness.

“We also call on all oil companies operating in the Biafran territory to shut down oil exploration on these dates to avoid the anger of the Biafran people, which may come with heavy consequences,” he added.

Several lives were lost and properties destroyed in parts of the South-East during the just concluded one-week sit-at-home ordered by Ekpa’s faction of IPOB from July 3 to July 10.

The spokesman of IPOB, Emma Powerful, had distanced the group from the sit-at-home ordered by Ekpa, but hoodlums who enforced the directive attacked persons who ventured out for work and business during the period.

On Monday, July 24, Enugu residents protested against the sit-at-home orders in the South-East.

The protesters, mostly youths and middle-aged persons, gathered at Okpara Square, close to the government house, from where they marched around the Enugu metropolis.

As the protesters marched through major streets in the Coal City, they chanted solidarity songs, expressing their frustrations over the weekly Monday sit-at-home orders, which had taken a huge toll on personal and business activities in the South-East region.

ICIR