Biafran War Veterans in Anambra State have exonerated
Governor Willie Obiano of any complicity in the brutal killings of members of
Indigenous People of Biafra, IPOB at Eke market, Nkpor-Uno and St.
Edmund’s
Catholic Church, Nkpor-Agu on May 30, 2016. An IPOB potester reportedly shot
dead by one of the soldiers who shot into the air to disperse protesters at
Ochanja, Onitsha, the commercial city of
Anambra State, South-east Nigeria,
during their 1 Million March, to call for the immediate release of their
leader, Nnamdi Kanu.
They, therefore, advised those still holding such views
which they described as erroneous to jettison it as Obiano is innocent of the
accusation. President of the war veterans, Major Emmanuel Udemezue (retd) who
made the exoneration when they were hosted by Obiano’s Senior Special Assistant
on Political Matters, Hon. Arinzechukwu Awogu, who also doubles as the
governor’s Liaison Officer to the Biafran War Veterans, said Obiano could not
have supported the massacre of Biafrans after giving a befitting burial to the
ones that died during the 1966/1967 civil war. War veterans at a meeting in
Onitsha They commended the governor for being fearless and at the same time
demonstrated that he believed in the survival of Biafrans by according those
that died during the Biafran war a befitting burial, adding that they were
grateful that Obiano did not only appoint a Liaison Officer for them but also
supported and taken care of them over the years.
Obiano Udemezue, therefore,
called on Ndigbo to continue to remember the sacrifices of those that died that
they may live, stressing that it was not a crime to say no to the senseless
killings of Ndigbo in1966/67, even as helamented that combatants on the side of
Biafra were not rehabilitated as their counterparts on the Nigerian side.
Responding, Awogu appreciated the war veterans for the sacrifices they made in
the defense of Ndigbo and reminded them that they were not the aggressors in
the conflict but that they were in their homes and war was brought to them and
as such they committed no crime by defending themselves and Ndigbo. Awogu
further stated that the fact that they are still together after 50 years of
being in the trenches was an indication that a regiment of old is still intact
and potent, even as he assured them of Obiano’s continuous care.
By Nwabueze Okonkwo
