Leader and founder of the Movement for Actualization of Sovereign State of Biafra, MASSOB, otherwise called Biafran Independence Movement, BIM, Chief Ralph Uwazuruike, disclosed Monday, that he had vacated his building which was a subject of dispute between him and the Owerri Catholic Archdiocesan Bishop, Lucious Iwejuru Ugorji.
Before vacating the one plot of land where he built his house since 2012 for Archbishop Ugorji, Uwazuruike lamented that since the matter was still in Court, due process ought to have been followed by allowing the Court of Appeal to decide on the case.
“From the bottom of my heart and for peace to prevail in Southeast and Imo State in particular, take the land, you have won me,’ Uwazuruike said, in a statement signed by his Director of information/Senior Special Assistant to BIM-MASSOB on Media and Publicity, Mazi Chris Mocha, and made available to newsmen in Onitsha.
Uwazuruke alleged the Imo State Governor, Sen. Hope Uzodinma sent his armed policemen numbering about 100 to his demolished house, shooting sporadically and injured six, arrested eight of his security men with bullet wounds but was happy that no one died on the process.
He further hinted that the eight arrested members are currently being detained at undisclosed police station in Owerri, the State capital.
The MASSOB leader who has ruled out any form of compensation to him or to his agent or any member of his organization acting on his behalf, said there are about eight empty plots of land around his own but the Governor decided to take his own to compensate Archbishop Lucious Iwejuru Ugorji.
Recall that Archbishop Ugorji recently told newsmen that the said piece of land belonged to Rev. Sisters many years ago before the MASSOB leader, Chief Ralph Uwazuruike forcefully built his house on it.
For the interest of peace in Igboland, Uwazuruike had asked his lead Counsel to withdraw the case in the Court of Appeal, just as he also directed his security men to vacate the land immediately.
According to him, ‘his property is not worth the waste of the blood of anyone, adding that he informed MASSOB members to achieve a State of Biafra through peaceful means and to protect lives and property of Ndigbo wherever one resides which has brought about the relative peace Ndigbo are enjoying today in Igboland.
He said he had made several sacrifices including donating his entire age, political career and legal services as a lawyer, fighting for the cause of Ndigbo even as he lamented that Ndigbo have never appreciated all his efforts.
