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The Indigenous People of Biafra (IPOB) has reacted to the recent arraignment of five suspects involved in the abduction of prospective National Youth Service Corps (NYSC) members along the Owerri–Onitsha Expressway in Imo State, stating that the arrest and prosecution of the suspects vindicates the group.
The Department of State Services (DSS) recently paraded and arraigned Usman Aliyu, Babangida Aliyu, Mohammed Ali, Aminu Haliru, and Ibrahim Jiji before an Imo State High Court sitting in Owerri over their involvement in the October 1 kidnapping incident.
In a statement issued by its Media and Publicity Secretary, Comrade Emma Powerful, the proscribed movement asserted that the identities of the suspect showcase the infiltration of non-indigenous criminal elements and armed bandits into the forests and major highways across the South-East region.
According to IPOB, had the operatives not apprehended the suspects, security agencies and sections of the media would have automatically attributed the crime to Biafra agitators or the Eastern Security Network (ESN).
“The public parade and arraignment of these individuals is symptomatic of the alarming extent to which criminal elements have infiltrated and taken over the forests, bushes, and highways of Igboland,” the statement read. “Had this atrocious kidnapping happened without these suspects being caught red-handed, the blame would have instinctively and falsely fallen on Biafra agitators and the Eastern Security Network. Innocent youths would have been rounded up, tagged ‘ESN terrorists,’ and subjected to extrajudicial harm to cover up the true perpetrators.”
The group further commended the DSS Director in Imo State and the prosecuting team for their professional integrity in conducting the investigation and presenting the suspects before the court without falsely linking the crime to IPOB or ESN.
IPOB maintained that the Eastern Security Network was established strictly for the security of local communities and agrarian areas against external security threats, reiterating that the organization has no involvement in banditry, kidnapping, or highway criminality in the region.
The group concluded by calling on South-East governors and regional leaders to confront the evolving security challenges facing the zone and implement comprehensive security measures to safeguard life and property across the state highways and border communities.
