…Says phone call saved him from boarding attacked Kaduna train
The proscribed Indigenous People of Biafra, (IPOB), has ended its ‘sit-at-home’ directive in the South-East region and embraced peace negotiations being organised by the Anambra State government.
The group, yesterday in Awka, the State capital, yielded to the appeal by the Anambra government and traditional rulers to pave the way for peace and allow Igbo stakeholders to find a lasting solution to insecurity in the region.
The group said the development is in order for them to embrace peace negotiations organised by the Anambra government.
The decision was disclosed by the Chairman, Anambra Traditional Rulers Council, Igwe Nnaemeka Achebe, during a one-day peace-building and security meeting held in Awka yesterday.
Igwe Achebe, who is also the Igwe of Onitsha, said that the stakeholders have continually held meetings on the way forward to lasting resolutions of the impasse with the agitators.
He said that after it met with the group on Friday, April 1, it was agreed that a call to release the IPOB leader, Nnamdi Kanu, would be a great step to dousing the tension in the state and region.
He said that after the meeting, the group placed a call to all its members to sheathe their swords, put down their guns and go the way of dialogue.
He said that the State government has set April 4 for prayers aimed at seeking God’s face to restore lasting peace in Anambra and the South-East as a whole. According to him, it was agreed that on April 4, all churches in Igboland and the South-East region will join in prayers to seek God’s forgiveness and to restore peace in the area.
Meanwhile, the Obi of Onitsha has stated that a phone call saved him from boarding the ill-fated Abuja-Kaduna train that was attacked by bandits on Monday.
The attack left some of the passengers dead, others injured and the assailants abducting some of the stranded passengers.
Speaking when Igbo leaders, under the aegis of Ahamefuna Socio-cultural organisation converged in Enugu, Igwe Achebe said he did not board the train because of a phone call inviting him for an emergency.
The monarch decried the increasing insecurity situation in the country.
The event, tagged: “The need for Nigerian Presidency from South-East Nigeria come 2023”, featured South-East leaders and elder statesman, Chief Emmanuel Iwuanyanwu; former governors of Enugu and Imo States, Dr. Okwesilieze Nwodo and Chief Achike Udenwa; former ministers, senators, clerics, traditional rulers, women and youth leaders.
