By Emeka Mamah
Members of the Indigenous People of Biafra, IPOB, Tuesday, disrupted a gathering of the Eastern Consultative Assembly, ECA, where some Igbo leaders including the Chairman of Igbo Leaders of Thought, ILT, Prof Ben Nwabueze, and first President of Nigeria, Late Dr. Nnnamdi Azikiwe were to be honoured.

Also, to have been honoured included the First Republic Minister, Chief Mbazulike Amechi and the late former Governor of old Imo State, Chief Sam Mbakwe, late Margret Ekpo and late Philip Effiog (all post humous) among others.

The event which attracted Dr. Azikiwe’s widow, Prof Uche Azikiwe, Chief Mbazuklike Amechi, a former member of the Zikist Movement; the former Director General of the National Orientation Agency, NOA, Prof Elochuwu Amucheazi, Prof Nwabueze, Anieken Akamkpan from the Niger Delta, a Calabari Leader, Mr Douglas Warmate, Chief (Mrs) Maria Okwo, Chief Kiamse Okoko, Prof Obasi Igwe, Emeka Onyeaso, Mr Charles Effiong and Dr Alex Mbakwe among others.

The organizer of the event and Founder of the Igbo Youth Movement, Evangelist Elliot Ugochukwu- Uko said that the aim of gathering was to discourse the restructuring of the country as well as honour disserving Igbo, living or dead.

However, when Amechi began to talk about the need to restructure the country into six zones, the Biafran agitators began to interrupt him, saying that they did not want to hear anything about Nigeria.

After several interventions by Evangelist Ugochukwu-Uko, Amechi was allowed to complete his speech, saying that Nigeria was an illegality, and that the country was being ruled by banditry, which attracted a loud applause from the crowd.

Professor Nwabueze spoke next after Amechi but his voice was muffled by the noise from the IPOB/MASSOB members.
However, hell was let loose when Ugochukwu- Ukor announced that it was time to give a post-humous award to Dr. Azikiwe for his contributions towards national development.

As soon as Zik’s name was mentioned, the Biafran agitators rose in condemnation of Zik’s efforts to keep the country united, just as they blamed the late nationalist for the current travails of the Igbo in the country.

As the crowd became restive, Ugochukwu- Ukor threatened to deal with any trouble maker in the hall but his utterances angered the agitators the more and they descended on the people on the high table and in the commotion that ensued, they removed Prof Amucheazi’s red cap from his head and his eye glasses.

Some of the leaders ran helter-skelter as their cars were stoned leading to the shattering of the wind shields.

Apparently, not satisfied with scattering the event, the mob chased journalists out of the venue before moving to the streets of Enugu metropolis, where they blocked roads, displaying the photographs of their leader, Nnamdi Kanu.
They condemned restructuring, saying that they would not settle for anything other than Biafran Republic.
However, as they were matching, the police confronted them in front of the Presidential Hotel, by firing tears gas canisters on them.

Ugochukwu-Uko said that trouble erupted at the hall, following his refusal to give the pro-Biafrans the platform to talk about dismemberment of the country.
“For more than 20myears, I have been advancing the cause of restructuring and people were saying I was mad. Today, they are calling me a prophet,” he added.
Confirming the story, the Enugu State Police Public Relations Officer, PPRO, Ebere Amaraizu said he had not been briefed by the Operations Department on the number of the IPOB/MASSOB agitators that were arrested.