Enugu – A report by the Daily Sun newspaper indicates that there is apprehension within the ranks of the Indigenous People of Biafra (IPOB) following the leadership vacuum created by the absence of its leader, Nnamdi Kanu.
According to the report, Kanu’s continued detention by the Department of State Services (DSS), has caused a seeming leadership crisis in the organization.
Nnamdi Kanu is currently held in detention by the DSS in Abuja. Photo credit: Stefan Heunis/AFP Source: Getty Images
Kanu was said to be fully in control and members, deputies and assistants took orders directly from him or his broadcasts on Radio Biafra.
The direct-order link is said to be totally missing and members are now said to rely solely on messages passed through his lawyer, Ifeanyi Ejiofor.
Reacting to the issue, Ejiofor alleged that the confusion among some IPOB members was caused by the presence of some “infiltrators” in IPOB, who are not loyalists of Kanu.
He, however, assured that the legal team would not be distracted by any machinations from the so-called infiltrators or their agents.
Ex-diplomat says breakup has consequences
Meanwhile, a former envoy to Malaysia and elder statesman, Ambassador Yerima Abdullahi has urged proponents of an independent state of Biafra to weigh the implications of Nigeria’s break-up.
The retired diplomat noted that the breakup of Nigeria will have negative effects on the country.
Abdullahi, who is also a close associate of President Muhammadu Buhari, said those agitating should rather push for a referendum, saying it was better than eroding the peace and progress of Nigeria.
Cleric says Nigeria will always remain one
Similarly, a national leader of the Organization of African Instituted Churches (OAIC), Bishop David Nwankwo, has told agitators to perish the thought of Nigeria’s break-up, adding that the country would not disintegrate anytime soon.
Nwankwo, who is the national director of research in the Christian Association of Nigeria, spoke in Enugu during a leadership retreat for members of the OAIC in the southeast region.
The cleric said: “I don’t see Nigeria disintegrating, I believe in Nigeria.”
