Igbo youths threaten to declare war after arrest of IPOB leader

IRATE youths across southeast Nigeria are threatening to declare war on the government in response to yesterday's arresting of Nnamdi Kanu the director of Radio Biafra who was apprehended by security men.
Mt Kanu, who runs his pirate radio station from the UK, was picked up by men of the Department of State Services (DSS) as he arrived at the Murtala Mohammed International Airport in Lagos yesterday. Radio Biafra, which has been declared illegal, agitates for a sovereign state for Nigeria's 15 Igbos.
It has also been a fierce critic of the Nigerian government and in the past, its Nigerian offices have been raided with equipment seized. Mr Kanu arrived in Nigeria yesterday and was immediately arrested by the DSS and taken away for questioning.
His arrest, however, has created tension in Igboland as hundreds of irate youths have taken to the streets across the southeast, threatening to declare war if he is not released. So far, there has been no confrontation with the security forces yet but tension remains high across several cities including Enugu, Aba, Onitsha, Umuahia, Owerri and Awka.
Mr Kanu, who is also acclaimed to be the director of Biafra Television and the leader of the Indigenous People of Biafra movement, has a large following among Igbo youths. Uche Mefor, the deputy director of Radio Biafra, confirmed that Mr Kanu was arrested in Lagos yesterday in a marathon broadcast.
In July, the National Broadcasting Commission (NBC) arrested several Radio Biafra operators and blocked the station from Nigeria’s airwaves. NBC director-general, Emeka Mba, said at the time that the action effectively neutralised the illegal radio station that had shattered the peace of southeast Nigeria with unsavoury messages.
He said: “Working with security operatives, the commission has also tracked down, neutralised and confiscated transmitter equipment from several locations in the region. Some suspects involved in the illicit broadcasts have also been arrested and taken to Abuja for questioning and prosecution."
However, despite this, Radio Biafra has still managed to operate, transmitting from the UK. Radio Biafra was floated by some Nigerians nostalgic about the defunct Biafra Republic, which ceased to exist at the end of the Nigerian civil war in 1970 and its backers say the radio caters for the needs of people from the region.