Arrest 143 in Ebonyi, Enugu, Cross River states
By Raphael Ede, Enugu; Obung Kinsgton, Calabar and Jacob Ogodo, Abakaliki
The police, at separate locations in the South-east and Cross River, yesterday, arrested not less than 143 protesters in connection with Biafra agitation.
The arrests cut across Enugu, Ebonyi and Cross River states.
In Enugu for instance, the state police command said its operatives arrested over 40 members of a pro-Biafra group, Biafra Independence Movement (BIM), over alleged plan to protest in Enugu.
The police made this known in a statement issued by its spokesperson, SP Ebere Amaraizu.
“No fewer than forty one persons suspected to be members of the Biafran Independence Movement (BIM) were nabbed by security operatives of the command from various parts of Enugu metropolis in the morning of Monday 22/5/15 based on intelligence information that they were about to conduct themselves in a manner likely to cause the breach of peace,” the statement said.
The PPRO said the command is, however, advising members of the public to be law abiding by shunning any act capable of bringing them in conflict with the law as anyone caught will be made to “face the consequence in accordance with the relevant sections of the law.”
Amaraizu said investigations into their alleged activities have begun after which they would be charged to court soon.
Similarly, Cross River state leader of Movement for the Actualisation for the Sovereign State of Biafra (MASSOB), Mr. Samuel Okah, along with 46 members of the group were also arrested by the state police command.
They were said to have been arrested yesterday by the Divisional Police Command at Odukpani local government area during a peaceful rally.
Members of the group arrested are mostly indigenes of Cross River, Ebonyi and Enugu states.
One of them who did not want his name in print, told newsmen at the Police headquarters in Calabar that the rally was a peaceful march meant to create awareness about the existence of the group in the state.
“The peaceful march by MASSOB was meant to sensitise the people of the state about the existence of the group. We embarked on a peaceful march because we were unarmed.
“We did not disturb the peace of anybody. We were surprised when the police, DSS, and other security agents arrested us”, he said.
Confirming the arrest, the state Police Public Relations Officer, ASP Irene Ugbo, said: “We had information about the rally at Odukpani and our men swung into action and arrested them for questioning to ascertain their mission and objective.
Also in Ebonyi, not less than 50 BIM members were arrested by the police in Abakaliki, the Ebonyi state capital, when the group staged what it called the “new Biafra” commemoration rally.
Over 2, 000 persons bearing Biafra flags flooded the capital city during the rally which saw policemen at strategic locations.
Meanwhile, MASSOB in a statement dissociated itself from the rally held by BIM across the states of the South-east.
