Supporters of the Nigerian separatist group, the Indigenous People of Biafra (IPOB), began a weekly stay-at-home protest Monday in the country’s southeast, calling for their leader to be released. IPOB’s southeast lockdown protest took effect from 6 a.m. local time Monday and lasted 12 hours. Residents across many states in the region complied with the order to stay at home, despite a warning from authorities prohibiting it. The separatist group says the protest is to press for the release of their leader, Nnamdi Kanu, who is facing trial for treason in Nigeria after he was rearrested in June. The separatist group says the stay-at-home protest will continue every Monday until Kanu is freed. In May, IPOB gave a similar order to honor fighters who died facing the Nigerian state during the civil war in the late 1960s. Imo state resident Justin Ohanu said travelers from Lagos passing through the state Monday were hindered by local militias enforcing the lockdown.
SOURCE: VOA