MUCH of the South East was on Wednesday grounded by members of the Movement for the Actualisation of the Sovereign State of Biafra (MASSOB) who protested the incarceration of their leader, Ralph Uwazuruike.

Traffic was held up on the Onitsha-Owerri Expressway by some protesters who took off from under the fly-over at Oba Junction and moved to Onitsha in several buses. Their placards blamed Governor Ikedi Ohakim of Imo State for being behind the detention of Uwazuruike and the alleged kidnap charge against him.

Other inscriptions on the placards read: "Ohakim, you are an enemy of Ndigbo," "Ohakim, release Uwazuruike now," "We are tired of one Nigeria, United Nations come to our rescue," "United Nations, hear our voice," and "All we are saying is Biafra."

A statement coordinated by Uwazuruike's Media Assistant, Chudi Mocha, and signed by MASSOB zonal heads alleged that Ohakim "is behind the current ordeal of Uwazuruike to have him remain in detention."

It warned that,"Saboteurs of the Biafran agenda must have a rethink or face dire consequences.

"The unsolicited amalgamation of various tribes and ethnic groups by the British Government in 1914 to form an entity known as Nigeria was illegal, unreasonable, a reckless abuse of colonial powers, and it constituted a forceful marriage as it was not the desire and wishes of the parties to be so merged."

It urged the United States to ignore calls by Nigeria to remove its name from the list of terrorist nations, and to help split up Nigeria to carve out Biafra as an independent nation.

Other MASSOB members took to the streets in Umuahia, blaming the Federal Government for doing nothing to forestall the rising tide of destruction of the lives and property of Ndigbo in Jos and other Northern cities.

They marched from Bende Road through Finbars Road to Umuwaya and back to Aba Road. MASSOB Regional Co-ordinator, John Ogbulafor, said Uwazuruike should be released or charged to court if he has committed any offence.

The MASSOB appealed to the United Nations and the World Human Rights Organisation (WHRO) to intervene and help save Uwazuruike from incarceration. Uwazuruike was remanded in prison custody on January 12 by an Abuja High Court over his alleged involvement in a case of kidnap.

But MASSOB members who protested round the streets of Enugu in their hundreds carrying Biafran flags, exonerated Uwazuruike from the allegation, and insisted that his detention was a plot hatched by Ohakim.

They urged Acting President Goodluck Jonathan to order his release. Spokesperson of the protesters, Benjamin Ekwenugo alleged that Uwazuruike's detention was masterminded by Ohakim to keep him out of circulation until after the 2011 elections.

Some of the placards displayed in Enugu said: "FG release, Uwazuruike," "Ohakim, release Uwazuruike," "Are Igbos still part of Nigeria?" "Ohakim, a failure," "God will punish Ohakim," "Uwazuruike is not a kidnapper, Ohakim is," and "Jonathan save Uwazuruike."

Police arrested some of the protesters on Edinburgh Road. A peaceful rally in Afikpo demanded the unconditional release of Uwazurike and 18 others detained in Awka and Kuje Prisons.

MASSOB members said "Nigeria is seating on a time bomb" and the solution to the political questions is the peaceful separation of the "uncomfortable units, Biafra and such others."

MASSOB National Director of Information, Uchenna Madu, expressed concern over "the politics of segregation" that leads to the killing of Christians in the North.

"The best solution is to deliberately allow the different entities be on their own instead of adopting a violent breakage that could lead to more loss of lives," he said.

The protesters marched through the streets of Afikpo with Biafran flags and placards, some of which read: "Ebonyi State is for Biafra," "Stop killing Christains in the North," "Release Uwazuruike now," "UNO give us Biafra now."

By Daniel Kanu (Lagos), Ben Duru (Umuahia), Emmanuel Nzomiwu (Enugu), Chukwujekwu Ilozue (Onitsha) and Felix Uka (Abakaliki)