Group threatens to shut down oil facilities over detention of Kanu

A pro-Biafran group, Biafra Nations League (BnL) has given the Federal Government a 14-day ultimatum to release the incarcerated leader of the Indigenous People of Biafra (IPOB), Nnamdi Kanu, or face a shutdown of all oil exploration in the Nigeria/Cameroon maritime borders.

The threat, which was made by the leader of the group, Princewill Chimezie Richard, also extended the ultimatum to the withdrawal of military troops from the South-East region.

Richard, at a press conference in Calabar on Saturday, also called on Cameroonian authorities “to desist from forcing and collecting proliferated taxes from Nigerians living in the Bakassi Peninsula.

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“We want to use this medium to reiterate our decisions to shut down maritime borders if our demands are not met within 14 days, effective from 8 May, 2022,” Richard said.

“This is not an empty threat. The BnL enjoys support from other pro-Biafran groups and we are capable of doing anything. We cannot disclose the extent of our capacity.

“You should know that we command massive loyalists and followers even amongst the natives. It will be disastrous if our demands are not met.”

“We are calling on President Muhammadu Buhari to release Kanu before he hands over on 29 May, 2023, and stop being recalcitrant by not obeying court orders.

“We are disappointed and have lost confidence in Buhari’s government. I can’t say I have confidence in Bola Ahmed Tinubu who would be replacing Buhari. I don’t even know him.

“Even if Kanu is released, it will not stop our agitation for Biafran sovereignty. We are demanding for safety and freedom from Nigeria. We have never believed in Nigeria.

“BnL is not alone in this struggle. There will be no negotiation about Biafra. Nigerian authorities should not force us to take laws into our hands,” he added.