The Nigerian Army has urged the Indigenous People of Biafra (IPOB) and other pro Biafra groups to rescind their threat to bear arms in self defence during protest.
It would be recalled that while reacting to the alleged killing of its members in Aba, the leadership of IPOB declared that its members will start bearing arms in self defence.
In an interview with journalists, Brigade Commander, 14 Brigade Ohafia, Abia State, Brig. Gen. Lawrence Anyaegbuna Fejokwu, said such decision cannot be in the interest of the people and appealed to the pro Biafra group to follow the path of peace in their activities and channel their grievances to the appropriate authorities.
He disclosed that the 14 Brigade Ohafia have decided to relocate its headquarters to Aba to arrest the incessant protest by the MASSOB and IPOB as well as the upsurge in kidnapping and armed robbery which is fast taking root in the city.
“Aba has continued to be a hot spot especially on the issue of kidnapping and the activities of IPOB and MASSOB. To this effect, I have decided to, after due clearance with my boss, the GOC, to relocate our tactical headquarters from Ohafia to Aba to see how far we can go in arresting the situation. I urge the IPOB and MASSOB to rescind their decision to bear weapons and stop acts of violence and channel their grievances to the appropriate authorities.
“They should eschew violence. People go to pray in various places and return to their house. So, if IPOB and MASSOB people want to pray, they should go to a place and at the end of it, quietly return to their houses. Nobody would have problem with that; but a situation where after the prayers they lead procession which will disturb the peace of the city, no security agency will sit and watch them.
Fejokwu dismissed reports that soldiers shot dead some IPOB members who were praying at the National High School, Aba, on Februry 9th, and insisted that those arrested were later hand over to the Police.
“We have conducted our own investigations; no soldier killed any IPOB member. I can assure you that the military didn’t hack down any pro Biafra protester. We have no MASSOB or IPOB member in our custody. Those arrested have been screened and handed over to the Police. During protest, casualties may arise when a supposedly peaceful protest turns violent leading to the Police using tear gas or the military firing warning shots to disperse protesters.”
While emphasizing that his Command is committed to making Aba a safe haven for residents and investors in conjunction with other security agencies, he appealed to residents of the state to volunteer useful information about criminals to soldiers, and assured that such would be treated in confidence.
