by Dolapo Adelana

Some pan-Igbo groups have expressed their displeasure with the bail conditions given to the leader of the Indigenous People of Biafra, Mazi Nnamdi Kanu.

The groups – Igbo Women Assembly, Igbo Youth Movement and Eastern Consultative Assembly – which reacted to the conditions on Tuesday said they were designed to ‘cage’ Kanu.

They said the order by Justice Binta Nyako of the Abuja Federal High Court, that the IPOB leader was should stay away from rallies and interviews was to make him a prisoner even while he was outside prison.

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The Igbo Women Assembly, in a statement signed by its leader, Chief (Mrs) Maria Okwor, said it was ‘not excited’ at the development.

“The conditionalities of Kanu’s bail is funny and designed to cage him and imprison him the more, it smacks of paranoia on the side of government. We are not excited.

“We are happy he is out though; we wonder why they left him alone. The struggle is just beginning.”

The leader of the Igbo Youth Movement, Evang. Eliot Uko, said the Federal Government intends to weaken IPOB with the bail conditions.

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“Those who packaged the bail conditions are clearly afraid of the big masquerade they have unwittingly created in their mistaken attempt to crush the uprising of the oppressed younger generation.

“From the bail conditions we can see that the haphazard bail is designed to entrap Nnamdi and weaken IPOB,” Uko said.

On its part, The Eastern Consultative Assembly, in a statement signed by the Publicity Secretary, Rev. John Odey, said the bail conditions were borne out of the ‘fear of Kanu’s popularity’.

“The fear of the popularity of Nnamdi Kanu has given birth to a laughable bail condition, which looks like imprisonment outside of the prison wall.

“The government is clearly afraid of the electrifying popularity of Kanu that would have shut down all the markets, schools and offices in Igboland on the arrival of Kanu in Enugu.

“In fact, the Enugu airport would not have survived the surge of human crowd that would have welcomed Kanu in their millions.”