TWO FEARED DEAD AS IPOB AND MILITARY CLASH IN ABA

AT least, two persons were feared dead in Aba, the commercial capital of Abia State on Monday following a protest by members of Indigenous People of Biafra.

The pro-Biafra supporters had defied several warnings by the state government and security agencies against protesting the continued detention of the Director of Radio Biafra, Mr. Nnamdi Kanu.

It was gathered that the group marched through major roads in the city, chanting solidarity songs in support of their detained leader.

But the protest, it was learnt turned violent when members of the group attempted blocking the Aba-Enugu highway and were dispatched by a team of the military and police.

According to an eyewitness, the protesters regrouped inside the town around Saint Michael road to make bonfires, which attracted the presence of soldiers and the police again.

It was gathered that the soldiers tried all means to disperse them to no avail while two persons were reportedly hit by stray bullets in the process.

When contacted, the State Police Public Relation Officer, Mr. Onyeke Udevito, said the team of the police and soldiers only dispatched protesters with tear gas.

Onyeke, however denied the knowledge of any casualty and added that 26 protesters were arrested by the police.

The state police spokesman warned members of the pro-Biafra group to desist from further protests in the city.

Meanwhile, the Rivers State Police Command has warned any secessionist group against engaging in activities that could endanger the lives and property of residents of the state.

The State Police Public Relations Officer, Mr. Ahmad Mohammad, warned that the command would not tolerate any form of protest, procession or demonstration that would jeopardise the peace enjoyed in the state.

Mohammad spoke in a telephone interview with our correspondent while reacting to reports that pro-Biafra protesters were planning to stage a protest in Rivers State.

“We will not fail in our duty to ensure that lives and property are protected in the state and therefore, we are warning against any protest, procession or demonstration that will endanger the lives and property of law abiding citizens in the state,” Mohammad stressed.

He, however, cautioned that the state police command would not hesitate to arrest any member of a group involved in activities that could lead to the breakdown of law and order.

The State Governor, Chief Nyesom Wike, had on Saturday directed security agencies to arrest and prosecute any member of the Movement for the Actualisation of the Sovereign State of Biafra or the Indigenous People of Biafra who flouted the ban on illegal processions and demonstrations in the state.

Wike condemned the acts of criminality perpetrated by the Biafran agitators, who capitalised on their protests to unleash mayhem on innocent citizens of the state.

The governor had placed a ban on all forms of street protests, processions and demonstrations in November 2015 after two persons were feared killed in Oyigbo and Eleme areas of the state.

A statement on Saturday signed by the State Commissioner for Information and Communications, Dr. Austin Tam-George, indicated that the Biafran agitators were planning to embark on a violent protest in Oyigbo Local Government Area of the state.

Wike, however, called on all residents in the state to remain calm and law abiding.

Credit: PUNCH