Odinkalu recently criticised the Sit-at-Home Order by IPOB, saying it has impacted negatively on the people
By Mosope Michaels
Social media platform X, formally known as Twitter has suspended the account of the Indigenous People of Biafra (IPOB) after some of its members threatened the former Chairman of the National Human Rights Commission (NHRC) and rights activist, Prof. Chidi Odinkalu and his family.
Odinkalu while featuring on a recent edition of 90MinutesAfrica with Rudolf Okonkwo, criticised the Sit-at-Home Order by IPOB which has negatively impacted the people of the South East.
The ex-NHRC boss during the chat disagreed with the methods employed by the IPOB group in their agitation for an independent state of Biafra.
According to him, a Sit-at-Home can only work if it is voluntary and the violence used by IPoB members and its sympathizers to enforce the order has caused more harm than good to the people of the South-East as it has resulted in great loss for the zone in terms of lives lost and impoverishment of the zone.
He went on to call out the leader of the group, Simon Ekpa, saying his irresponsibility had led to wanton bloodletting and killings across the region.
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Prof. Odinkalu, while criticizing the antics of the secessionist group., acknowledged the right of people to withdraw their habitual allegiance from any authority as a form of protest, but insisted that that withdrawal must be exercised voluntarily.
“When you go about shooting people because they are trying to go and survive, that is no longer sit-at-home,” he said.
The law professor also drew attention to some factors contributing to Simon Ekpa’s and his group’s relevance in the southeast. He alluded that Simon Ekpa is exploiting the lacuna created by government failure in the southeast.
However, his comments did not go down well with some IPOB supporters who launched an online campaign of threats against Odinkalu and his family.
After the vicious attacks, the professor wrote a petition to Twitter demanding that appropriate actions be taken against the group and its followers.
On Tuesday, a handle identified as “Abcooz357579Z” which was one of the accounts that launched the attack was locked by Twitter for violating its rules.
Various other handles were also under investigation for being part of what appeared to be a coordinated campaign of threats and intimidation by IPOB activists against Odinkalu & his family.
This was followed up by a letter from Twitter to Odinkalu confirming the ban on the account of IPOB.
It read: ” Hello, Thanks for your report. After our review, we’ve locked the account for breaking our rules.
“Please keep in mind, the account does have the option to take the actions we’ve requested to have their account unlocked. This can include deleting the Tweet(s) that violated the rules, having their account features be temporarily limited or updating specific information on their account.
“We appreciate your help, and encourage you to reach out in the future if you see potential violations. Thank you”
A quick check on IPOB’s Twitter account by TheNiche revealed that it has been suspended.
