IPOB: POLICE/MILITARY JOINT OPERATION RECOVERS LETHAL WEAPONS FROM KANU’S RESIDENCE
IPOB: POLICE/MILITARY JOINT OPERATION
RECOVERS LETHAL WEAPONS FROM KANU’S RESIDENCE
Umuahia – The Commissioner of Police
in Abia, Mr Anthony Ogbizi, has said that lethal weapons, including petrol
bombs and one double-barrel gun, were recovered during last Sunday’s raid of
the residence of the leader of the Indigenous People of Biafra (IPOB), Nnamdi
Kanu. Nnamdi Kanu missing ? Ogbizi said this on Thursday during an interaction
with newsmen in Umuahia, adding that the items were recovered during a joint
operation by security personnel in the state. He said that the petrol bombs
were found in buckets and incriminating documents and letters, concerning
IPOB’s activities and plans, were also recovered during the raid. He said that
the raid was carried out based on an intelligence report, regarding the
continued activities of some members of the group.
Ogbizi said, “We recovered many of
Biafra’s insignia, staff of office and some of those items are being analysed.”
The police boss said that the operation also led to the arrest of one suspected
member of IPOB. He said that the team also discovered the telephone numbers of
the group’s zonal coordinators adding that all the communications between the
leadership of the group and their collaborators would be thoroughly analysed.
Ogbizi said that a Biafran flag was also found hanging on a telecommunications
mast in the area.
According to him, the police will ask
the Nigeria Communications Commission to sanction any telecommunication company
that allowed its mast to be used to hoist Biafran flags. He said that the
activities of IPOB in the Southeast were “stirring insurrection” and that
security agencies would not fold their arms and watch the group foment violence
in the country. He said that members of the group allegedly set a police
station and van ablaze in Aba, and also attacked a military patrol team in
Umuahia.
The police chief said that similar joint
operations would be carried out intermittently in Kanu’s residence, anytime
they received intelligence report that offensive weapons were brought to the
place. He said that it was wrong to say that the military was taking over the
duties of the police rather the action should be seen as a synergy between the
two organisations to check security challenges. Ogbizi said that he would not
hesitate to invite the army anytime the security situation in the state grew
beyond the capacity of the police.