Eze Isreal Kanu (left) and son, IPOB leader Nnamdi

Mr Ene Okon, Abia State Commissioner of Police has warned that he will not allow any member of Indigenous  People of Biafra, IPOB, to participate in the burial of of Eze Israel Kanu and his wife, Sally, both parents of their leader, Nnamdi Kanu because the group is proscribed.

Okon, however, told journalists in Umuahia, the State capital that members of the group are free to attend the burial as individuals.

He vowed that the command would disrupt the funeral should IPOB attend the ceremony, adding that the police had already informed the Traditional Prime Minister of Afara-Ukwu Ancient Kingdom, the community of the deceased of the decision.

The Police Commissioner said that he would not fold his hands and watch a proscribed group operate in the state.

“If they fail to adhere to what we have told them, it means they do not want the burial to go on smoothly because we are going to scatter the place.

Federal Government in September 2017 proscribed IPOB, following an order of a Federal High Court, Abuja, declaring the group as a terrorist organisation.

“IPOB is proscribed by the federal government and I, as the commissioner of police in Abia, cannot sit here and allow any proscribed group to operate anywhere in this state.

“I am saying this again for emphasis that there is no way police will allow a proscribed group to participate in the burial,” Okon said.

According to him, the command will not take anything for granted, considering the abundant intelligence on threat by IPOB.

The police chief, however, warned that the command would react, “if IPOB flag, insignia or any form of identification of the organisation if seen at the burial”.

News Agency of Nigeria (NAN) reports that Kanu escaped from Nigeria, after the group was proscribed as a terrorist organisation.

Kanu’s mother reportedly died in a German hospital in August, 2019, while his father died in December.

They will be buried on Friday, February 14 in their country home in Afaraukwu Ibeku in Umuahia North Local Government Area of the state. (NAN)
LEO/USO