Preparations are in top gear, ahead of the Friday, February 14, burial date of parents of the Leader of the Indigenous People of Biafra, IPOB, Nnamdi Kanu, His Royal Highness Eze Israel Okwu Kanu and his wife, Ugoeze Meme Sally Kanu, at their country home, Isiama Afaraukwu community, in Umuahia Local Government Area of Abia State.
Residents, and shop owners, however, said that they are willing to be part of the burial ceremony, though they expressed fears of possible clash between members of IPOB and Security Agents in the State.
According to a cross-section of Respondents, they have been noticing the movement of persons in plain clothes, suspected to be personnel of Security Agencies in the State.
Though the Army in the State has long denied ever being in the community, it was alleged that 9 Hilux vans loaded with Military personnel, patrolled the community on Sunday, heightening fears of residents.
Some of them advised Kanu to stay away from the burial, stating that, they would be happy if the remains of their Monarch and his wife were interred peacefully.
Contrary to insinuations in some quarters, the family and Leadership of Isiama Afaraukwu, said that IPOB would have no role to play in the burial of the late king and his wife.
The President-General, Isiama Afaraukwu Autonomous Community, Chief Ikechukwu Ndubueze in a Media chat with Kanu’s family and Ohanaeze Youths Council, OYC, at the Nigeria Union of Journalists State Secretariat, disclosed that the community wants their Monarch and his wife to be buried peacefully.
According to Ndubueze, the burial of Kanu’s parents does not have anything to do with Biafra agitation, which is being championed by their first son, Nnamdi.
The President-General, who said that the community Leaders have been consulting with the various Security Agencies in the State, to ensure that their Monarch and his wife are buried in peace, urged members of the public to disregard any rumour, social media report, or any other information regarding the burial of their King and Queen, except the one that comes from the Burial Committee set up by the three communities in Afaraukwu ancient kingdom.
He regretted that the fourth Columnist had taken advantage of the social media space to spread false rumours about the burial, insisting that it has nothing to do with Biafra.
He pleaded with the Federal Government to quickly withdraw Soldiers deployed in the community, whose presence he said, is already causing unnecessary tension and panic among the indigenes and people that had indicated their interest to be at the burial.
“The Army should allow us to bury our Monarch and the wife peacefully. It is their traditional right which we owe them”, he stressed.
Kanu’s younger brother, Prince Emmanuel Kanu, said the family is still in pain over the circumstances surrounding the tragic death of their parents.
Prince Kanu disclosed that the family only wants to conduct a peaceful burial for their parents, and queried the rationale on which the Army authorities based the deployment of troops to the community.
He said that the Army and other Security Agencies should stay clear from the burial, arguing that their involvement is unwarranted.
