Biafra: Nigerian Police Chief Warns Protesters Not to Carry Guns
The head of Nigeria’s police force has warned pro-Biafran protesters not to take up arms, as Amnesty International tells Newsweek it is investigating alleged killings and human rights abuses of protesters.
Pro-Biafran protests in Nigeria were sparked by the detention of Nnamdi Kanu, a U.K.-based activist and leader of the Indigenous People of Biafra (IPOB), by Nigerian security forces in October 2015. Since then, protesters and police have clashed as pro-Biafrans demand Kanu’s release and a referendum on the independence of Biafra, a region of southeast Nigeria which existed as an independent republic between 1967 and 1970. At least 22 protesters and two police have been killed in the demonstrations since October 2015, AP reported on January 18, although pro-Biafran groups maintain the figure is much higher.
Biafrans “will now be in the mode of self defense” after allegedly suffering repeated attacks by Nigerian security forces, according to an IPOB statement issued on February 9 and seen by Newsweek . “We shall defend ourselves with everything and anything necessary to avoid the continual killing of our mothers, fathers and children. This is the time for all Biafrans to rise and defend themselves,” said the statement, which also claimed that security forces had killed at least 50 people since October 2015.
credit Newsweek
Pro-Biafran protests in Nigeria were sparked by the detention of Nnamdi Kanu, a U.K.-based activist and leader of the Indigenous People of Biafra (IPOB), by Nigerian security forces in October 2015. Since then, protesters and police have clashed as pro-Biafrans demand Kanu’s release and a referendum on the independence of Biafra, a region of southeast Nigeria which existed as an independent republic between 1967 and 1970. At least 22 protesters and two police have been killed in the demonstrations since October 2015, AP reported on January 18, although pro-Biafran groups maintain the figure is much higher.
Biafrans “will now be in the mode of self defense” after allegedly suffering repeated attacks by Nigerian security forces, according to an IPOB statement issued on February 9 and seen by Newsweek . “We shall defend ourselves with everything and anything necessary to avoid the continual killing of our mothers, fathers and children. This is the time for all Biafrans to rise and defend themselves,” said the statement, which also claimed that security forces had killed at least 50 people since October 2015.
credit Newsweek
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