Chiwetalu Agu: I wore civil outfit depicting rising sun, NOT Biafra

Chiwetalu Agu, the ace Nollywood actor, has denied showing solidarity to any proscribed group.

The 65-year-old film star was arrested on Thursday by soldiers for wearing an outfit themed after the flag of Biafra.

Locals in the south-eastern state of Anambra who witnessed the incident had claimed the army publicly manhandled Chiwetalu, searched his vehicle, and fired shots to scare off the crowd that gathered.

In response, the army had denied assaulting the comic actor. It also clarified that Chiwetalu was arrested after he publicly displayed his solidarity for the Indigenous People of Biafra (IPOB), a proscribed separatist group.

Following the efforts of the Actors Guild of Nigeria (AGN), he was released on Friday after 24 hours in detention.

But in footage taken of him while at the 82 Division in Enugu, Chiwetalu argued that he only wore a civil dress.

The actor also debunked claims by the army that he had supported the activities of secessionist groups in the southeast.

“I can wear this, my vehicle is parked at the centre of Upper Iweka, this is rising sun (touching his regalia), not Biafra, not Eastern Security Network. With my education, I know areas to go and not to go,” he said.

“I must rise. It’s a civil dress. Your oga is talking. Let’s listen to the facts and then know how to react to them.

“I was buying bread, N10,000 bread, sharing them one by one, no campaign, nothing, N10 thousand worth of bread when he came. Nobody was doing demonstrations or carrying people along.”