INDIGENOUS People of Biafra (Ipob) leader Mazi Nnamdi Kanu has threatened to go after the children of the Abia State police commissioner Ene Okon should there be any killings at the funeral of his parents on Friday February 14 in Afaraukwu near Umuahia.
Currently on self-imposed exile after jumping bail and fleeing from Nigeria in November 2017, Mazi Kanu is facing several charges including treason and faces a lengthy jail term if he ever sets foot in Nigeria. Over recent months, the Ipob leader has lost both of his parents and as his father, His Royal Highness Eze Israel Okwu Kanu, was the local traditional ruler, the burial of him and his wife Ugoeze Meme Sally Kanu, will be a grand affair.
However, it is due to lead to a big showdown between Ipob and the Nigerian state as the secessionist group has warned military personnel not to come anywhere near the venue. In a stark warning to the police to steer clear of the event, Mazi Kanu has warned that should any member of his family be attacked, he will seek vengeance against Mr Okon’s children.
Mazi Kanu said: “If Inspector Okon and his commanders come to my father’s house to kill anyone on 14th February 2020 at my parents’ burial, we will hunt down their children.”
In an interview February 7, Mr Okon warned Ipob members to steer clear of the burial. he said: “Do you think we will sit down here and allow Ipob to participate in the burial? Whoever thinks along that line is fooling himself. Ipob will dance during the burial and the police elephants will dance too.
“I have already reached out to the traditional prime minister of Afaraukwu and told him that if they want the burial to go smoothly and for police to give them security, they should tell Ipob not to near the area not to talk of participating in the burial. If they fail to adhere to what we’ve told them, that means they do not want the burial to go on smoothly because we are going to scatter the place.
“Ipob is proscribed by the federal government and I, as the commissioner of police in Abia cannot sit here and allow any proscribed group to operate anywhere in this state. I am saying this again for emphasis that there is no way police will allow a proscribed group to participate in the burial of the king and queen of Afaraukwu simply because they are the parents of their acclaimed leader, we will not allow that and we cannot take anything for granted in the face of abundant intelligence on threat by Ipob.
“If the burial committee writes to police to provide security during the burial, we will oblige them on the condition that they will guarantee us that Ipob will never, ever be part of the burial, Ipob will never get near there, in fact that Ipob will never, ever enter Umuahia. That police will not see any Biafra flag, Ipob insignia or Ipob member disguising as Jewish or Zionist Church members.”
Mazi Kanu’s kinsmen, expecting some trouble, have asked Ipob members to keep away from the burial. Chief Ikechukwu Ndubueze, the president-general of the Afaraukwu community, said they want a peaceful burial for their late monarch and his wife.
