Ipob leader Nnamdi Kanu warns Igbos living in northern Nigeria that they do so at their own risk

INDIGENOUS People of Biafra (Ipob) leader Nnamdi Kanu has warned Igbos living in northern Nigeria that they are doing so at their own risk warning that if they chose to remain there they only have themselves to blame.

Over recent weeks, tension has been mounting across Nigeria as a coalition of Arewa youth groups gave Igbos living in the north a deadline of October 1 to vacate the region. Widely condemned as unacceptable, the quit notice has provoked a heated debate about what could happen if Ipob and other secessionist groups continue with their agitation for the recreation of the independent nation state Biafra.

Speaking about the development yesterday, Mr Kanu said that he would not take issue with the Arewa youths, who he described as inconsequential. He added, however, that Igbos who reside in northern Nigeria were doing so at their own peril, pointing out that they are sacrificial lambs who could be killed at any moment.

Mr Kanu said: “It is up to them. They have been in the north, and the northerners have been killing us since 1945.

“If you choose to live in the north, you choose to be a sacrificial lamb because one day, they will kill you. It is a choice they have made and they will have to live with it.”

In addition, Mr Kanu insisted that the Anambra State governorship elections scheduled to hold on November 18, would not go ahead unless the federal government acceded to pro-Biafran agitators’ demand for a referendum. He added that he was not bothered that Ohanaeze Ndigbo had overruled his call for the boycott of the poll.

 “No, I’m not bothered because the people are with us. We control the people 100% and come Anambra, on the 18th of November, 2017, the whole world will be amazed.

“We are entirely peaceful and we are not stopping anyone from voting. If you want to vote, you can go and vote as we are democrats,” he said.

Mr Kanu added that the planned referendum would, once and for all, settle the debate between Biafra and restructuring. In addition, he assured a delegation of the Igbo Women Assembly, led by Maria Okwor, that the menace posed by Fulani herdsmen in parts of the southeast would come to an end before the end of the year.