Those enforcing sit-at-home order don’t want Nnamdi Kanu released – Enugu governor

 Governor Peter Mbah of Enugu State has said those enforcing a sit-at-home order in the state and other parts of the South-east are not seeking the release of Nnamdi Kanu, leader of the outlawed Indigenous People of Biafra (IPOB).

Mr Mbah spoke on Saturday during a media chat with Enugu-based reporters and media executives at the Government House, Enugu.

IPOB, in August 2021, introduced a sit-at-home order every Monday across the south-east to pressure the Nigerian government to release its detained leader, Mr Kanu, who is standing trial on treason charges at the Federal High Court, Abuja.

The separatist group later suspended the order and said it would only be implemented on the days Mr Kanu appears in court.

However, gunmen said to be part of agitation for Biafra in the region have continued to enforce the suspended order. The IPOB faction led by Mr Kanu has repeatedly disowned those enforcing the civil order.

The governor said those enforcing the order are only “criminals” hiding under the guise of being Biafra agitators and protesting the detention of Mr Kanu to commit crimes.

“As media people, it is important you educate our people for them to know that these sit-at-home enforcers are not after Mazi Nnamdi Kanu’s welfare or freedom. We must be able to separate the two.

“The so-called sit-at-home enforcers are mere criminals and our people must face them frontally,” he said.

Mr Mbah said that Igbos were united in demanding for the release of Mr Kanu, noting that he had also met with President Bola Tinubu to request the release of the IPOB leader.

He said the state government had declared war against sit-at-home enforcers and would never take orders from them. Earlier, the state government had threatened to punish civil servants and businesses that adhere to the sit-at-home order on Mondays.

In the interview, the governor stressed that his administration banned the action in Enugu because he was convinced that the state would not record investments and achieve economic growth if the people should continue to take orders from the “faceless criminals.”

“We cannot be defeated by evil and we must not allow that to happen,” he said.

He asked for concerted efforts by the media and Enugu people against what he termed “scaremongering and fake news,” saying it had become the new strategy adopted by the sit-at-home promoters to cause panic.

Mr Mbah urged reporters to be professional in their duty by fact-checking and verifying the authenticity of information before publication.

“The truth is that we have won the actual war against sit-at-home enforcers and murderers out to destroy Enugu State and Igboland.

Because they no longer have the capacity to unleash terror on lives and property of Ndi Enugu, that is why they have now resorted to scaremongering, peddling of fake news, and all manner of dramas to instil fear in our people and control their minds and actions,” he stated.

“We practice democracy. We can never allow murderers and terrorists to dictate to us. We must not allow those who do not have the mandate of the people dictate to us how to live our lives; when to go out; when to close our businesses and when to sit at home.”

Mr Mbah also said the state government was exploring the option of prosecuting those who are instigating and enforcing violence and the illegal sit-at-home order in the state at the International Criminal Court in Hague.

The governor said the culprits would be prosecuted for their alleged crimes against humanity, saying nobody should be allowed to cause deaths and inflict pain on others, especially in this 21st century.

He hinted that technology had already been deployed to guarantee the safety of residents, pointing out that there were no longer hideouts for criminals in the state.