Newzandar | For alleged unlawful assembly, the Imo State police on Wednesday detained 67 people, including a native doctor, who were suspected of belonging to the outlawed Indigenous People of Biafra (IPOB).
This was said at the state capital of Owerri by Isaac Akinmoyede, the commissioner of police for the state.
According to Mr. Akinmoyede, the individuals were taken into custody on Sunday in the state’s Orji, Owerri North Local Government Area.
He claimed that when they were detained, they were en route to consult with the local physician to strengthen their defenses against gunshot wounds.
He continued, “It is thought that the group is preparing an attack on security agencies with the intention of stealing weapons.”
He said that the indigenous physician had previously extracted bullets from a possible IPOB member who had sustained gunshot wounds.
The group’s attack and theft of two guns from police during a violent protest in 2018 is particularly noteworthy. The rifles were eventually found during a robbery operation by a kidnapping organization.
According to the police chief, while on duty at the Mmahu Egbema checkpoint, troops from the 34 Field Artillery Brigade intercepted the suspected IPOB members. These soldiers then requested reinforcement from the Divisional Police Headquarters, Egbema.
According to him, divisional police officers arrived on the scene quickly and helped transfer the suspects to the divisional police headquarters where they were taken into custody.
Recall that the Federal Government of Nigeria has prohibited this organization (IPOB), therefore any such assembly by the group is considered illegal. Court charges will be brought against them as soon as the inquiry is finished.
However, in response to the event, IPOB spokesperson Emma Powerful cautioned Nigerian security and government services to cease pursuing IPOB members.
“We are cautioning the government and security services of Nigeria to permit IPOB’s operations, as we have been peaceful in all of our endeavors since the inception of this great campaign to free our people.
Since 2015, Nigerian security personnel have taken great pleasure in apprehending and killing members of the IPOB family, while their fellow terrorists and Boko Haram operatives continue to wreak havoc across the country without any intervention from law enforcement.
We are pleading with Imo State Governor Hope Uzodimma to give the security forces in his nation the order to free our members as soon as possible. The government of Nigeria and her horde of terrorists have been hunting for our problems; they will have to find them when we’re ready. They would repent what they did to IPOB members when the time is right, he warned.