The Abia police command on Monday warned the proscribed Indigenous People of Biafra (IPOB) to steer clear from the burial of Eze Israel Kanu and his wife, Sally, both parents of its leader, Nnamdi Kanu.
The Commissioner of Police in the state, Mr Ene Okon, who gave the warning in an interview with newsmen in Umuahia, said that the command would disrupt the funeral should IPOB attend the ceremony.
Federal Government in September 2017 proscribed IPOB, following an order of a Federal High Court, Abuja, declaring the group as a terrorist organisation.
He said that the command had made its position clear to the Traditional Prime Minister of Afara-Ukwu Ancient Kingdom, the community of the decessed.
He said that he would not fold his hands and watch a proscribed group operate in the state.
“If they fail to adhere to what we have told them, it means they do not want the burial to go on smoothly because we are going to scatter the place.
“IPOB is proscribed by the federal government and I, as the commissioner of police in Abia, cannot sit here and allow any proscribed group to operate anywhere in this state.
“I am saying this again for emphasis that there is no way police will allow a proscribed group to participate in the burial,” Okon said.
According to him, the command will not take anything for granted, considering the abundant intelligence on a threat by IPOB.
He said that members of the group were free to attend the burial as individuals and sympathisers like other members of society.
The police chief, however, warned that the command would react, “if IPOB flag, insignia or any form of identification of the organisation if seen at the burial”.
News Agency of Nigeria (NAN) reports that Kanu escaped from Nigeria after the group was proscribed as a terrorist organisation.
Kanu’s mother reportedly died in a German hospital in August 2019, while his father died in December.
They will be buried on Friday, February 14 in their country home in Afaraukwu Ibeku in Umuahia North Local Government Area of the state.