The Ohanaeze Youth Council has warned the Abia State Commissioner of Police, Ene Okon, to instruct his men to stay away from the funeral of Nnamdi Kanu’s parents.

Eze Israel Okwu Kanu and Ugoeze Sally Kanu, parents of the leader of the proscribed Independent People of Biafra (IPOB) will be buried on February 14, 2020.

Ahead of the burial, the President of OYC, Igboayaka O. Igboayaka, stated that the Abia State CP had, in an interview with a national newspaper vowed to disrupt the burial of Kanu’s parents should the foowers of the IPOB leader show up in Umuahia or anywhere near Afaraukwu, Kanu’s hometown.

Igboayaka cautioned that any move by the police to disrupt the burial or launch ‘Operation Elephant Dance’ would be resisted by his group with anything within its reach.

A statement obtained by newsmen, which was signed by the Special Assistant on Media and Publicity to the OYC President, read in parts,

In an interview he (Abia CP) granted Sun Newspapers, he vowed to disrupt and scatter the venue of the burial ceremony if Kanu’s followers dare venture into Umuahia or anywhere around the Afaraukwu community.

“Okon added that the police under him would launch Elephant Dance should IPOB members refuse to heed to his dictates. We in OYC, see this tough talk and boastful outburst from the police boss in Abia as reopening the wounds of the Nigeria-Biafra war, which was declared “no victor, no vanquish” by the then Nigerian military government.

“Okon’s deadly outbursts at this point, if not dragging Nigeria back to the repeat of the 1966 crisis, is capable of causing chaos and anarchy in the country. As worrisome and shameful as this could be at this hour, we are compelled to advise Mr. Okon that no reasonable security agency launches or deploys a crime fighting system where there is no crime.

“Any move to disrupt the burial or launch ‘Operation Elephant Dance’ by the Nigeria Police Force would be solely viewed as an act of conventional war against Ndigbo, and we must resist it with anything within our reach.”

Igboayaka, however, called on the President, Major General Muhammadu Buhari, to withdraw military troops and police personnel hovering around Afaraukwu community, so as to allow the bereaved to accord their last respect to the late father and mother of Nnamdi Kanu.

The OYC president also urged the Federal Government to call the Abia police commissioner to order over his (Okon) recent statement stopping IPOB members from attending the Kanu’s parents’ burial.

“The President of Ohanaeze Youth Council has asked the Federal Government to call the Abia State Commissioner of Police, Ene Okon, to order over his recent statement, barring IPOB members from attending the burial of Nnamdi Kanu’s parents, Eze Israel Okwu Kanu and Ugoeze Sally Kanu on February 14.

“OYC is reiterating that President Buhari should, as a matter of necessity, withdraw all the military troops and police personnel hovering around and over the Afaraukwu community to enable the bereaved bury their dead and accord their last respect to the late King and Queen.

“This is the least they could do as we do not see any need for provocative actions or statements promoting violence or tragedy at this time. It is unfortunate that the Nigeria Police, when asked to join the Army to fight Boko Haram, chickened out and protested that they were not trained to fight the armed terrorist group.

“But they are spoiling for a war, a showdown to kill defenceless and unarmed youths at Afaraukwu, Umuahia. OYC urge the FG, Ene Okon to launch their Elephant Dance at Borno, Kaduna, Katsina, Kebbi, Niger, Gombe and other northern states, where sleeping at night has since become a nightmare as a result of activities of terrorists, bandits and kidnappers,” Igboayaka added.

Speaking further, the OYC president urged Abia State Governor, Okezie Ikpeazu, to sit up, face his responsibility as the chief security officer of the state and ensure that that innocent Igbo youths were not killed during and after the burial.