The Indigenous People of Biafra has pledged support for the one million man match proposed by a Yoruba group known as the Ilana Omo Oodua in agitation for the declaration of a Yoruba Nation.
IPOB’s support for the march set to be staged across the South-West was disclosed by its leader, Nnamdi Kanu, in a tweet on Wednesday.
Kanu tweeted, “As the brave men & women of #Oduduwa plan this historic “one million man march across Southwest”, I want to assure all & sundry that #IPOB stand with you & all oppressed ethnic groups in #Nigeria in this brave step & I implore all that desire freedom to support it. #WeMove.”
At the time of filing this report, WuzuPNigeria can confirm that the march has been placed on hold, according to a statement from the Professor Banji Akintoye-led Yoruba group.
“The much-awaited one million man march being organised across the Yoruba speaking states has been postponed until further notice.
“The rally is being planned to hold in the cities of Ikeja, Ibadan, Akure, Ado-Ekiti, Osogbo, Abeokuta, Kabba and Offa in Lagos, Oyo, Ondo, Akure, Ado-Ekiti, Osun, Ogun, Kogi and Kwara states respectively on Wednesday, 24th March to drum up support for the actualisation of the sovereignty of Yoruba Nation.
“We have a meeting with all Yoruba socio-cultural and self-determination groups slated for Saturday, March 27th. After the meeting, we shall announce a new date for the One Million March, but it is possible next week. Thus, we put all the seats of power in Yoruba land on notice,” the statement read on Monday.
In the same vein, the group, on Tuesday, clarified that the One Million March was not a plan to secede from Nigeria.
“We are saying for the sake of clarity that what we declared is the sovereignty of Yoruba Nation from Nigeria and not secession from Nigeria. We want an autonomous Yoruba Nation.
“We want to determine how we want to govern our people. We want to control and manage our resources. We want to police and secure the lives and properties of our people.
“We have made our position known. Our agitation for autonomous Yoruba Nation is legally grounded, intellectually rooted and it shall be executed without shedding of blood.”
Meanwhile, the Nigerian Army has warned that it would deal with any individual or group guilty of compromising the territorial integrity of the country through the declaration of ethnic sovereignty.
“The Nigerian army under my leadership would remain proactive and jointly work with other security agencies to decisively deal with threats facing the nation.
“The Nigerian army under my watch remains resolute and is poised more than ever before to decisively deal with individuals or groups that threaten the peace, security and stability of our great nation,” the Chief of Army Staff (COAS), Lt. -Gen. Ibrahim Attahiru said on Tuesday
