Abia State Police Command to try arrested 59 Ipob members under anti-terrorist laws

MEN of the Abia State Police Command have arrested 59 members of the Indigenous People of Biafra (Ipob) and have insisted that they will be charged under anti-terrorist laws after the Nigerian military declared the group a terror organisation.

Last week, the Nigerian defence headquarters declared Ipob a terrorist organisation to the consternation of civil society groups who  declared such action illegal. Today, the senate president Bukola Saraki also declared the move unconstitutional, pointing out that due process was not followed in the development.

However Anthony Ogbizi, the Abia State police commissioner, has said that with the proscription of Ipob by governors from across the southeast and its declaration as a terrorist group by defence headquarters, arrested members would be tried as terrorists. He added that anybody found with Biafra materials would be arrested and prosecuted too.

Yesterday, President Muhammadu Buhari held a closed-door meeting with some northern governors before departing for New York where he will be attending the 72nd Session of the United Nations General Assembly. Former president Dr Goodluck Jonathan has also called for  peaceful coexistence among the different ethnic nationalities that make up Nigeria.

Senator Saraki has said the senate would meet with security chiefs to chart a path for resolution of contentious issues engendering tension in the southeast. However, Mr Ogbizi has insisted that Ipob members will be tried for murder at a media briefing where he paraded seven of the suspected members at the Ariaria police station in Aba.

According to the police, they have arrested 59 Ipob members in Abia State and have confirmed the death of an officer after an attack by members of the group. Mr Ogbizi said the suspects would be prosecuted under the anti-terrorism act to ensure they were properly dealt with.

Mr Ogbizi also called on citizens to volunteer information on the whereabouts of Nnamdi Kanu and denied the rumours circulating in the state that security agents arrested his father.  He added that Ipob members are currently converging on Mr Kanu's house in Umuahia and their activities are being monitored.