Tribune / Nigeria: It was a bloody day in the south-eastern states of the country, on Monday, the 30th May, as Biafra group marked the 49th anniversary of what it called Biafra Day.
Many feared killed in Anambra
In Anambra, many people believed to be members of the Indigenous People of Biafra (IPOB) were reportedly shot dead, with a police officer killed, a soldier stabbed and several others arrested in Onitsha.
It was gathered that men of the Nigerian Police had swooped on some worshippers, believed to be members of the IPOB, at about 1.68 a.m., at St. Edward Catholic Church, Nkpor Umuoji Road, Onitsha,
The clash between the policemen and IPOB members was said to have left about five persons dead, with several others sustaining injuries.
The development caused demonstrations around the Nkpor axis after which it was gathered that another clash by the members of the Joint Armed Forces with protesters at Nkpor Uno, in the same axis, left about 25 people dead.
It was also gathered that a soldier attached to the 302 military regiment in Onitsha was stabbed, while the Nnewi South regional administrator of Movement for the Actualisation of the Sovereign State of Biafra (MASSOB), Chief Anthony Nwodo and 14 others were arrested by the Joint Security Taskforce (JTF) at Ezinifite.
Two of the protesters were said to have died on the Niger Bridge, while coming from Asaba, Delta State capital, to join their Anambra counterparts in the celebration.
On getting to the bridge, it was gathered that they met resistance from men of the JTF. The development also left a policeman dead, with a soldier stabbed.
All the markets in Onitsha and environs were shut, including the street market, despite the order of the state government.
Reacting to the development, IPOB spokesman, Emma Powerful, said the armed forces killed about 25 of their members at Nkpor, adding that “they just opened fire on us as we were having a peaceful procession.”
Also reacting, Emmanuel Omenka, personal assistant to the MASSOB leader, Chief Ralph Uwazurike, said “no amount of killing of Biafra agitators will deter us from fighting to actualise a sovereign state of Biafra.”
Reacting, the state Police Public Relations Officer (PPRO), Okechukwu Ali, in a telephone conversation, said “I am not aware of any casualty. What we do is to use tear gas to disperse the protesters, in order to avoid destruction.”
The group, according to him, did not obtain permission for the demonstration.
Protest claims 7 in Asaba
In Asaba, the clash by the police with members of IPOB claimed seven lives.
In the ensuing shootout between the police and the Biafra agitators at Cable Points and Abraka area of the state capital, two policemen were confirmed dead, while IPOB lost five of its members.
Residents in the area had to close their shops and doors as they scampered for safety.
Report from Asaba said IPOB members carried their flags and placards in a procession to celebrate Biafra Day, which later turned violent as the protesters damaged a police patrol van belonging to Ibusa division as well as a military vehicle.
The development was said to have infuriated armed policemen positioned at strategic locations in the area.
Witnesses said some persons, including policemen, who were injured in the fracas, were taken to the Federal Medical Centre, Asaba.
A nurse at the FMC, who pleaded anonymity, confirmed to News Agency of Nigeria (NAN) that some of the injured were brought to the hospital.
An eyewitness, Mr Uche Okelue, told NAN that the fracas broke out after a police team threw teargas at the protesters in an effort to disperse them.
“The police used teargas on the MASSOB people as they were protesting on Anwai Road this morning, so the people got angry and attacked the policemen with knives and broken bottles.
“They caught one policeman, beat him up before stabbing him to death; it was a fierce confrontation as everyone ran in different directions,” Okelue said.
Another eyewitness, Mr Ben Onwordi, told NAN of another fight between the police and MASSOB members at the popular Mammy Market Junction on Nnebisi Road, Asaba.
“As the group were protesting, the police patrol vehicle came behind them and tried to disperse them, but the MASSOB people resisted and in the process they clashed and many people were injured.
“The MASSOB people damaged the police patrol vehicle, vandalising the windscreen and doors before all of them fled into different directions,” Onwordi said.
The “Biafrans,” according to the state acting Police Public Relations Officer, Charles Muka, who confirmed the report, made away with AK-47 and one smoke gunner rifles, while two policemen were injured.
At the River Niger Bridge on the border between Delta and Anambra states, a police source who pleaded anonymity told NAN that MASSOB members had attacked some policemen at the bridge head, overpowering two of them, before throwing them into the river.
“We have been able to retrieve one of them from the river. He was brought out in an unconscious state and rushed to the hospital, however, the second victim is still missing,” he said.
When contacted, spokesperson for the police command in Delta, Mr Charles Mouka, said two policemen were thrown into the River Niger by the group, adding that one of them was, however, rescued alive while the other died.
Eight members of the group, Muka added, were arrested and four of them wounded.
The police spokesman said five persons were killed by military officers who had confrontations with the group on Asaba-Onitsha Expressway in Asaba.
He added that a pregnant woman was hit by stray bullet during the fracas, adding, however, that she is receiving treatment at the FMC, Asaba.
Police arrest 13 in Enugu
No fewer than 13 suspected members of the Indigenous People of Biafra (IPOB) were arrested by the police for alleged unlawful protest in Enugu.
The Enugu police spokesman, Mr Ebere Amaraizu, told the NAN that the suspects were arrested on Obiagu Road in the Coal City, while commemorating Biafran fallen heroes and heroines of the 1967 -1970 civil war.
He said they were apprehended with flags of Biafra.
Amaraizu said the command had embarked on a surveillance of the state following reports of planned protests.
Police arrest 17 in Imo
The police in Owerri arrested 17 members of the MASSOB for holding a road show in commemoration of 49th anniversary of Biafra.
The state PPRO, Andrew Enwerem, who confirmed the arrests, said those arrested would be prosecuted.
He further added that those arrested not only displayed Biafra insignia, but that they also chanted solidarity songs and behaved in a manner capable of breaching the peace in the state.
The MASSOB members began the march at Waterside Primary School, Owerri, from where they moved to Rotibi Street to Oguamana Street before linking Douglas Road.
At Douglas Road, they met heavily armed security men, who threw teargas at them at Ama JK end of the street and arrested some.
Mr Okechukwu Nwogu, a leader of MASSOB, said it was regrettable that the police arrested members of the group who were on a peaceful march to commemorate the 49th anniversary of Biafra and 17th anniversary of MASSOB.
Earlier, Chief Canice Anojuru, the spokesman for MASSOB in Owerri zone, had said the group decided to hold the road show to awake the consciousness of the people of the defunct Biafra.
10 arrested, one injured in Abia
Ten persons have been arrested while one in a critical condition, following gunshots during the rally by MASSOB and Biafra Independence Movement (BIM) in Umuahia, Abia State.
The peaceful rally, which commenced 10.00 a.m. from Asaba street, Umuahia, shortly after prayers by members of MASSOB, resulted into confrontation when police forcefully tried to stop the group from carrying out the rally.
The development resulted in restiveness by members of the group.
Addressing hundreds of its members earlier on Monday, the group leader/ Abia Central zonal administrator, Mr Felix Ezekwem, who spoke through the central zonal information director, Mr Anselam Ogbonna, urged members to shun act capable of causing confusion.
Reacting, the state PPRO, Onyeke Udeviotu, confirmed the incident but, however, said four persons were arrested, while no one was shot, as the police used only tear gas to disperse the protesting members.
Police arrest clerics conducting service in Ebonyi
The Ebonyi State police command, on Monday, arrested some clergymen who were conducting an inter-denominational service for members of MASSOB.
It was gathered that policemen, numbering over 200, midway into the service, stormed the Nkaliki Primary School field, Abakaliki, venue of the 2016 Biafran day celebration of the group and arrested the clergymen as well as other members.
The zonal leader of MASSOB in charge of Ebonyi North, John Nwifuru, flanked by a member of the elders-in-council in charge of Ebonyi anniversary, Moses Eze, confirmed this at a briefing in Abakaliki.
According to him, many members of the MASSOB were also arrested by the command during the celebration.
Police spokesman, George Okafor, could not be reached for comments, as calls put through to his mobile phones were unanswered at the time of filing this report.
But a top security source in the state, who spoke on condition of anonymity, confirmed the incident.
The state Commissioner of Police, Peace Ibekwe Abdallah, when contacted, said she would brief the media on the matter at the appropriate time.
