The fear that the sit at home order for Friday, September 23, 2016 by the Indigenous Peoples of Biafra, IPOB, may degenerate into violence, has forced about 170 Anglican Bishops to “flee”.
The Anglican Bishops who converged in Awka, Anambra state on Monday for a five-day standing committee meeting of the Anglican Communion of Nigeria on Wednesday, September 21, 2016 cut short their meeting ending it abruptly, an online news site, All News reports.
The conference was scheduled to end on Friday, but the Bishops decided to end it for fear that they may be trapped in the state capital.
The meeting, attended by 170 Bishops from all the Dioceses in the country, was the highest decision-making gathering of the church and would have ended on Friday, Vanguard reports.
IPOB has issued a sit-in-order to “all people of Biafraland” to stay at home and fast and pray on Friday.
The Primate of the Anglican Communion, Most Rev. Nicolas Okoh even expressed this fear earlier in the conference saying that the meeting may not go on as scheduled.
He nonetheless urged the state governor, Chief Willie Obiano, to prevail on IPOB members to rethink their Friday protest so that the Bishops’ Conference could go on as planned, adding that the sit-at-home protest by the IPOB would hamper their activities.
The IPOB had in its weekend threat said that markets, banks and other institutions would be shutdown on Friday, while movement would be restricted in the South East and beyond as a protest for the continued detention of their leader , Mazi Nnamdi Kanu by the Federal government.
The group had urged every person in the south east and indeed Igbos anywhere in Nigeria sympathetic to the struggle for the actualization of Biafra to sit at home that day, stating that why the protest in Nigeria would just be to sit at home, Igbos in the diaspora would protest where ever they may be.
But the Primate implored the pro-Biafra agitators to postpone their action until after the end of the bishops’ conference.
“We are not against whatever their agitations are, but we ask them to wait until we leave Awka on Friday.
“If they go on to carry out that protest, we may be trapped in Anambra as the Niger Bridge is the only exit way from Anambra State.
“So, help us beg them to allow us to go,” the Primate enjoined the state governor, Willie Obiano.
A delegate who would not want to be named told our correspondent that “there was no assurance that we are protected”
“We are human, so we had to put our heads together and decided to cut short the conference.
“That’s the most ideal thing to do in the circumstance.
“I will leave this evening and most others will do same. Those who cant make it today will do so early tomorrow (Thursday).
“There is no need waiting, it doesn’t make sense”, the source maintained”, he said.
The Anglican bishops also appealed to the Niger Delta militants to stop the bombing of oil facilities in their region in the interest of the country, even as they called on President Muhammadu Buhari to convene a meeting between the government and the agitators with a view to addressing their grievances
Shutting down the economy of the country they said would not do anybody, any good.
The Archbishop, Metropolitan and Primate of All Nigeria, Most Reverend. Nicholas Okoh, who addressed the conference at Saint Faith Pro-Cathederal Awka appealed to the federal government to disarm the Fulani herdsmen who he said had murdered the peace of the country.
“The Standing Committee wishes to make passionate appeal to the militants to spare our economy and stop the bombing of oil facilities.
“Shutting down the economy is like pulling down the roofs with all of us inside; nobody will escape the negative impact. We equally call on those who can reach them to join in this appeal for the greater good of all.”
“The presence of herdsmen in our countryside is not new, they have always been around. What is, however, new are the unprovoked attacks on their host communities sometimes justified by saying that cow is missing.
“They lay ambush and waylay people going to their farms, rape women and destroy farmlands; and their victims are at their mercy because they are armed.
“We call on the federal government to immediately disarm this people to return Nigeria to a state of peace.”
“Our roads are in bad condition all across the country. Since our major means of transport is road, we call on the federal government to give the required attention to the roads to reduce the inconveniences, accidents and deaths.”
“Airlines operating in the country are going through difficult times, some have grounded operations. No doubt, we need them.
“We therefore call on the federal government to expedite action on floating the national carrier or rejuvenate the private ones to enable them perform better,” he said.
