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Wednesday 11 November 2015

Pro-Biafra Protesters Take Centre Stage in Port Harcourt


Nigeria News Headline - Biafra Supporters
Hundreds of Indigenous People of Biafra (IPOB) members calling for the creation of the sovereign state of Biafra yesterday protested in Port Harcourt, the Rivers State capital.
The presence of over 200 men of the Joint Task Force (JTF), deployed in the Aba/Port Harcourt Expressway, did not deter them.


The protesters, who gathered at the Oyigbo junction as early 6.30am, crippled commercial and other activities in major parts of the city.
The agitators were said to have arrived in the Garden City from Aba, Abia State, through the Aba Expressway.
They got to the Artillery junction on Aba Road before anti-riot policemen blocked them.
The scene became rowdy and the police used teargas to disperse the protesters.
In the stampede that ensued, some of the protesters fell and others scampered for the safety.
Some of them later converged on a spot in the area, accusing the police of shooting live ammunition at the protesters.
One of the protesters, Samuel Elijah, 25, said the demonstration was meant to make the Federal Government release their leader, Nnamdi Kanu, who was arrested for running an “illegal” Radio Biafra.
Some residents of Aba Road, who were forced to shut their homes and businesses, decried the development.
They said the protesters should have complied with the procedure for protests to avoid a clash with security agents.
Despite the tear gas canisters fired at them by the police, the protesters insisted on getting to the Government House to see Governor Nyesom Wike.
But the Rivers State government yesterday dissociated itself from the agitation, saying it “takes exception to the disruption of commercial activities by the protesters”.
A statement in Port Harcourt by the Special Assistant to the Governor on Media, Mr Simeon Nwakudu, said: “The Rivers State government believes in one indivisible Nigeria. In as much as people have the right to peaceful protests, it should not be at the detriment of other members of the public.
“If the protesters have any misgivings, they should channel same to the appropriate authorities.”
The police command said it was monitoring the situation to prevent a breakdown of law and order.
Police spokesman Ahmad Muhammad, a Deputy Superintendent of Police (DSP), said reports at his disposal “indicate that nobody was shot let alone injured”.
An eyewitness, who spoke in confidence, said: “It was something else today (yesterday). The protesters wanted to confront the police, who fired several tear gas canisters at them, but somehow, they changed their minds and insisted they must get to the Government House.
“I salute the professional way the police handled the matter; if not, there would have been casualties.”
He added: “After battling for hours to stop the protesters, the police had to surrender and escort them as they were moved on, pulling down the Nigerian flag, throwing stones at banks offices and even compelling people to chant Biafra solidarity song.”
Sensing that they would find it difficult to get to their destination through Aba Road, another group of protesters re-grouped on the Ikwerre Road, from where they moved on to Mile One, heading to the Government House.
Flying the Biafra flags, the agitators chanted solidarity songs, such as: “Obey o, you must obey Biafra!”

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