Mr Kanu had been arrested by security men after arriving in Lagos from the UK from where he runs his pirate radio station, which calls for the break-up of Nigeria. His arrested sparked a series of protests by Igbo-speaking supporters of Biafra who held solidarity rallies in Rivers, Delta and Anambra States demanding Mr Kanu's unconditional release.
In Port Harcourt, the Rivers State capital, however, the protests did not go as smoothly as elsewhere as the local Ijaw-speaking population do not support the Biafran cause. Indeed, during the defunct Biafran Republic, Ijaws were minorities in the enclave and claim they were maltreated by the majority Igbo.
Consequently many of the protesters were arrested by the police in Port Harcourt yesterday as they chanted war songs and called for the creation of the sovereign state of Biafra. According to the agitators, most of whom were business men and women of Igbo extraction, it was an act of impunity for the federal government to apprehend a man who is championing the cause of his people.
They protested the alleged unfair treatment of the Igbos by the Nigerian state, stressing that Biafra of their dream was a reality. However, the Rivers State police commissioner Musa Kimo said 12 persons have been arrested in connection with the protest warning that the police will not tolerate such protest in the state capital anymore.
Local people were also unhappy that the protest disrupted the flow of traffic in some areas of Port Harcourt. In the New GRA area of the Rivers State capital, motorists were stranded for several hours because of the traffic gridlock caused by the protests on adjoining major roads.
Police also shot into the air outside a bank after the protesters got too close, creating a minor security fear. However, it appears that the protesters were dispersed without any incident and no one was harmed.
Despite this, the protesters remained defiant, adding that they remained committed to the cause of an independent state of Biafra. They also expressed displeasure at the fact that Mr Kanu was being granted bail rather than being released unconditionally.
One protester said: “We are hopeful that Biafra will come to be and we are not satisfied with the bail conditions granted Kalu. During the elections, they had strange radio stations blaring hate speeches and threats in some parts of the north but nobody harassed them, so this unfairness against the Igbo must stop.”
Chidiebre Aguodu, one of the Independent People of Biafra (Ipob) coordinators, added: “The reason for this protest is that our able chairman, the father and founder of Ipob worldwide, has been held by President Muhammadu Buhari. We need him to be released to us unconditionally.
“I advise the country to allow Biafrans go because the marriage has lasted for 101 years and there was no understanding. The battle lasted for 40 years and we have won three times, so all we want now is freedom because we are tired of the marriage. Let Nigerians be Nigerians and Biafrans be Biafrans.”
Ikechukwu Okoye, the Anambra State coordinator of Ipob said their protest was not meant to cause any trouble, adding that they were only on the streets to prevail on security operatives to release Mr Kanu. He added that the protesters were marching to the Government House to plead with Anambra State governor, Chief Willie Obiano to prevail on President Muhammadu Buhari to intervene in the matter.
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