A social media influencer and blogger, Chika Nwoba, has warned intending protesters in the planned nationwide protest under the hashtag #EndBadGovernance to ensure that no incriminating or illegal item was found on them during the protest, which starts on August 1 and ends on August 10, 2024.
This was as he equally raised the alarm over possible resistance and ‘eventual’ clash between the protesters and some indigenous groups with “clannish” interest, who according to him, had been badly battered with hunger yet with no solution at hand.
He also appealed to the protesters to tread with caution in the course of the exercise, alleging that the police in the state were an appendage of the political class and were willing to arrest, treat and prosecute defaulters and tag them members of the Indigenous People of Biafra.
He stated this in a post on his Facebook page, on Monday, which had since gone viral with reactions trailing.
He said, “Anyone joining the hunger protest in Ebonyi should be careful not to go violent about it or have any incriminating object. I’m being particular about Ebonyi because Abakaliki is very empty of people. The headcount of people who’ll turn out for the protest is a matter of a minute.
“Another reason is that there’s serious hunger in the state. Political sycophancy is too much here; clan sentiment as well. A pitiable group parading itself as Izzi Interest Group has issued a warning that they don’t want protest in their land, which is Abakaliki. The reason is that their brother is the governor. You can imagine the level of dumbness in this. These are the same young people who are very poor and hungry. They’re not even part of those ripping the treasury of the state. Their only stake is that their brother is governor.
“They can do anything to express solidarity as if anyone is declaring antagonism against their brother. These don’t even care about the number of their people hawking and doing menial jobs outside the state. Another threat is coming from a ghost organization called NANS. A useless organization!
“Another serious concern about the protest in Abakaliki is the police. I have been a prison inmate in Ebonyi twice and I have a lot to tell you about case management in this state. Anyone arrested for whatever reason within the protest period in Abakaliki will be charged as an IPOB member. Once charged as such, the person will buy a piece of land in the prison. Matters associated with the IPOB are stigmatized both in court and in prison. I have been there. It’s a way of suffering anyone arrested in what government is against in the South-East with Ebonyi in clear specificity.”
He added, “When you are termed an IPOB suspect, and charged as such, it’s only a miracle that can guarantee your release from prison in five years. This is except there’s a political intervention. I’m very certain that people arrested within the 10 days this protest will last in Abakaliki shall be arraigned as IPOB suspects. The court doesn’t want to hear you’re an IPOB suspect. Your matter is stigmatized and treated leprously.
“Police in Abakaliki are very hungry and willing to carry out the orders of the people in government, even of councillors. I have been there often. The kind of policing system in Abakaliki is terrible. It’s a political party on its own. Once a petition is submitted against you by the political class, forget it, it’ll end in prison. No investigation. They’re after what the petitioner wants. I don’t even want to talk about the judiciary here. It’s something else.
“So, if you are joining the protest in Abakaliki, ensure nothing incriminating is in your possession. Ensure you aren’t involved in any violent display. Police in Abakaliki operate on a different insane level. There’ll also be a civilian counterforce in solidarity with the man in Government House. They are coming from the angle of ‘our brother’. The protest must take place, but not violently. If you are planning for violence, you’re on your own. I shall be participating in Awka where I live.”
When contacted, the Police Public Relations Officer, DSP Joshua Ukandu, said the Command had made adequate preparations to forestall the breakdown of law and order in the state.
He said, “The command has adequately deployed officers to ensure security in the state.”