Nnamdi Kanu, Uwazurike and Murder of Prophet Nwoko, Chukwuemeka Ugah, others: Igbo Mandate Congress Condemns Bloodletting.
Culture of Bloodletting has been introduced once more into Biafraland by agents loyal to Nnamdi Kanu, Uwazurike with regards to the murder of Prophet Nwoko, Chukwuemeka Ugah alias Okpele and other victims of internal assassination
We have made investigations with contacts within IPOB community and concluded that Prophet Nwoko was murdered by order from above. Six Enugu based IPOB operatives macheted him to death in orgies of murders within Biafra land which I estimate to be beyond two hundred so far. Many of the victims of such assassinations have nobody to help tell the story publicly.
Prophet Nwoko is a friend, colleague and fellow Igbo activist introduced to me by The General Coordinator of General Assembly of all Igbo Christian Organizations and Ministers (GAAICOM), Apostle Dr PCJ Macjossy in 2011 and we met severally till 2016 when we disagreed on the modus operandi of achieving Igbo Mandate or Biafra. I have alluded to that in my piece ‘Murder of Prophet Nwoko by Biafran Activists; a Curse on the Struggle’ though I do not agree with many of his prophesies, and have voiced it to him, yet I respected his sacrifice, passion and prayers for the Biafran struggle
In 2015, Nnamdi Kanu was arrested by Buhari’s DSS and a public outcry followed his incarceration. The home front was effectively managed by Emma Powerful, IPOB spokesman while activists like Okey Isiguzoro, President of Ohanaeze Youth provided a reliable support .However, the issue of sharing formula for money collected from high profile politicians sympathetic to Nnamdi Kanu became problematic between IPOB and Ohanaeze . The sharing disagreement led to death sentence being issued on the head of the Ohanaeze Youth leader in 2016. IPOB asked their members to kill him wherever they find him. His photograph was splashed all over the place. Okey Isiguzoro is in a better position to tell how he escaped IPOB death sentence
Peter Ejirika, US based Biafran activist, whom I had known through his writings since 2011, was threatened. A few times I had disagreed with Ejirika’s far leftist views on Biafra actualization. He wants Biafra ‘now now now’ just like Prophet Nwoko and quite unlike myself, does not believe in plenty preparations and preliminaries. Despite differences, it is incontrovertible that Peter Ejirika is a ‘die hard’ Biafran and I always appreciate his writings. He disagreed with Nnamdi Kanu on mismanagement of Biafran funds and the IPOB leader threatened to kill him whenever the later came to Houston, USA. Peter Ejirika would have none of that, and prepared for a gun duel with Kanu and his supporters. Kanu reportedly came to Houston and left quietly.
Barrister Emejulu Okpalaukwu, immediate past Ohanaeze spokesman, pioneer leader of Ohanaeze Youth and Popular Organ and most prominent youth leader in the South East spoke on national television in Abuja in November 2015 that failed politicians are sponsoring protests. IPOB members declared death sentence on him, kept vigil at his house in Awka , and planned to kill the wife, a popular woman activist known as ‘Ijele Nwanyi’ and her children. Okpalaukwu’s wife and children were smuggled to Abuja by a group of ‘Ebube Agu‘members with huge assistance from a notable Holy Ghost Priest, Rev Fr Desmond Arazu. The driver who brought the family out to Abuja recounted the story of the escape to me while Fr Arazu told me that he providing logistics.
Prophet Nwoko reduced links with GAAICOM and joined IPOB fully and started prophesying for Kanu. He relocated temporarily from Enugu to Abuja and lived in a house near Kuje Prison, to become a courier to Kanu, and ministered to him in Prison. He threatened everyone with fire and brimstone in defense of Kanu. After a while Nwoko realized that the struggle has become hidden financial ATM and he raised alarm. A death sentence was passed on him, and few weeks’ later six men murdered him because he couldn’t defend himself. Those who macheted him to death are Enugu based IPOB members.
In 2014, I was introduced to Comrade Chukwuemeka Ugah, erstwhile Chief Security Officer to MASSOB leader ,Raph Uwazurike. He needed my assistance concerning his travails with MASSOB. This man from Igbariam in Anambra State opted out of MASSOB, accusing Uwazurike of abandoning them to penury while living in opulence. He formed the Association of Igbo Youth (AIYO) with lots of MASSOB loyalists and all hell was let lose. By the time he was reporting to me, about fifty of his members have been murdered by MASSOB allegedly under the order of Uwazurike.
In a petition signed by their National Coordinator, Comrade Chukwuemeka James Ugah and Anambra State Coordinator, Mr Odinikpo Ananwude and addressed to the Assistant Inspector General of Police (AIG) Zone 9, Umuahia, submitted on the 1st of November, 2013 they alleged that on the 14th of July alone, Uwazurike’s men murdered 18 of their followers at Onitsha.
It got so bad that Ohanaeze and GAAICOM waded into the matter and Barrister Okpalaukwu was asked to follow up while the church leaders while prominent Igbo clerics asked me to follow up and get back to them. The matter was reported to the AIG Zone 9 .The AIG invited them for settlement and some MASSOB activists laid ambush on AIYO activists and the journey was aborted by security tip off, I prevailed upon Okpele and his boys to shelve the trip to avoid further bloodshed.
Few months later, Okpele, former CSO to Uwazurike was invited to SARS Awkuzu and by the next day he was murdered in detention. Okpele had alerted a week earlier that Uwazurike threatened to use his friendly links with the Jonathan Government and police to kill him and his alert was ignored until he was killed. I cannot recount the moves that myself and others church and Ohanaeze leaders made to prevent his followers from orgies of bloody revenge.
Chief Daniel Okafor alias ‘Odogwu Anam’ imprisoned in Asaba by Nigerian Government for kidnapping claimed that it was MASSOB leadership that alerted the security of his movements and circumstances that led to his arrest by the police in 2013. A friend of Chief Okafor contacted us in 2015 and solicited assistance for his release, claiming that Uwazurike masterminded his trumped up arrest due to disagreements. We recommended his release, alongside Nnamdi Kanu and Ben Onwuka to the Federal Government Security Delegation in 2015.
Ben Onwuka of Biafran Zionist Movement has repeatedly claimed that it is fellow activists that betrayed him to security agents and given them tips on how to deal with him and his followers.
Nnamdi Kanu escaped death during his traditional wedding when Uwazurike allegedly took some activists and invaded the celebration venue. Uwazurike fell out with Kanu over the sharing of Biafran money which Kanu accused him of cornering to himself alone.. Death sentence was declared on Kanu for questioning spurious spending and thugs from MASSOB invaded the venue of his traditional marriage and beat him up.
Dr Macjossy travelled to Aba with group of clerics in 2016 and was sharing with the crowd of activists on why God commanded a three day prayer with certain protocols if Igbos will find their feet in Nigeria. Some Biafran activists of IPOB genre led by an elderly man threatened to kill him there if he mentions prayer again instead of outright declaration of war on Nigeria. Of course Apostle Macjossy is not one you threaten anyhow and the man and his armed gang were made to behave themselves.
The history of murder of fellow Biafran activists by Biafrans started with Gen Ojukwu when he ordered the murder of Col Ifeajuna and Col Banjo and top Biafra commanders on charges of treason. He was also alleged to have set up Major Kaduna Nzeogwu to be killed at Nsukka front in order to have a free reign over Biafra.
That free reign resulted in free fall, failure, and surrender and absconding after 30 months of bloodshed. Once you turn against your own people in the same struggle under the slightest misunderstanding, you introduce failure to the entire process.
There is murder in Biafra house and the God of Abraham is not a murderer. Those who want to anchor the struggle on murder will destroy the struggle.
For the loudmouthed and senseless mob of lynchers, by the next ten years or more, we will still be talking the same thing, blaming every other person except ourselves, if we fail to excise bloodletting from within.
(Rev Obinna Akukwe a church leader and rights activist is the Director General of Igbo Mandate Congress,IMC) [email protected], facebook.com/igbomandatecongress