Politics
OBJ bribed us to forget Biafra, MASSOB alleges
The Movement for the Actualisation of the Sovereign State of Biafra, on Monday, replied former President Olusegun Obasanjo over a statement credited to him that Biafra is dead, saying Biafra is not dead and will never die. The group also alleged that the former President tried to bribe it leaders in 2006.
The group state this in a statement by its Director of Information, Comrade Samuel Edeson.
Obasanjo, had said while presenting a paper entitled: “Resurgent Biafra Agitation: Born in Error, Ignorance and Frustration,” at a public discussion on Biafra, organised by Nextier Advisory in Abuja, insisting that Biafra was a dead issue, dismissing the current agitation for the resurrection of the Biafra secessionist agenda as a hopeless and futile exercise.
In the statement, MASSOB said Obasanjo had tried to destroy the pro-Biafra group in the past, during his time as the country’s president, adding that the struggle for the actualization of Biafra survived, despite persecution masterminded by Obasanjo’s administration, including the killing of about 1000 MASSOB members at Umulolo, Okigwe, in Imo State, on March 29, 2003.
“MASSOB wishes to reply Obasanjo that Biafra is not dead and will never die.
“Obasanjo should have known that after killing over 1000 MASSOB members at Umulolo, Okigwe, in Imo State on March 29, 2003, which he masterminded through Achike Udenwa, then governor of Imo State.
“The killing of MASSOB members in Onitsha, Anambra State in 2006/2007, and detention of MASSOB members in various prisons in Nigeria has not stopped our agitation.”
Edeson also alleged that Obasanjo tried bribing MASSOB leaders with ‘bag of money’ to forget the struggle for the resurrection of Biafra.
“In 2006 while Uwazuruike was in Keffi prison, Obasanjo invited us to Aso Rock where he promised us millions of naira and to send us out of the country.
“Ghana-must-go bag of money just for us to forget Uwazuruike to die in prison.
“But we rejected the offer,” Edeson said.
Meanwhile, pro-Biafra protests resumed on Monday in Aba, Abia State, as protesters stormed the city. According to reports, the protest however turned violent as the protesters clashed with security agents who tried to break up the procession.
RipplesNigeria …without borders, without fears
Join the conversation
Support Ripples Nigeria, hold up solutions journalism
Balanced, fearless journalism driven by data comes at huge financial costs.
As a media platform, we hold leadership accountable and will not trade the right to press freedom and free speech for a piece of cake.
If you like what we do, and are ready to uphold solutions journalism, kindly donate to the Ripples Nigeria cause.
Your support would help to ensure that citizens and institutions continue to have free access to credible and reliable information for societal development.
INVESTIGATION: In Kwara, multimillion-naira milk processing plant is abandoned, converted to a chicken outlet
After the government spent millions of naira to establish a milk processing plant in Kwara State that would provided jobs...
SPECIAL REPORT: For Sokoto communities, promise of healthcare is akin to death sentence
In this story, ABDULRASHEED HAMMAD delves into the dire realities of Primary Health Care services in Sokoto State, shedding light...
ICYMI…SPECIAL REPORT: NNPCL hides behind PIA to frustrate disclosure, accountability
Nigeria’s major oil company, Nigerian National Petroleum Corporation Limited (NNPCL), in what appears to be a common practice of disregard...
INVESTIGATION: Multi-million naira Ekiti resort center remains uncompleted a decade after
The multimillion-naira project, expected to comprise recreational buildings, now consists of cassava farmland, a bush used for excretion, and a...
SPECIAL REPORT: Torturous experiences of students with disabilities in Oyo tertiary institutions
For students with disabilities in Oyo state-owned tertiary institutions, learning is a torturous and distressing experience, considering the building structures...