Ihuoma Chiedozie, Enugu
About 20 Biafran agitators, suspected to be members of the outlawed Indigenous People of Biafra, were on Tuesday arrested by the police in Enugu.
The development followed protests by the IPOB members at an event organised by a pan-Igbo group to honour some Igbo personalities, including the first President of Nigeria, the late Dr. Nnamdi Azikiwe.
The event was proceeding smoothly until one of the Igbo leaders commenced speaking on the need to restructure Nigeria along regional lines.
The development apparently angered the agitators, who interrupted the speaker, insisting that ‘it is Biafra or nothing else.’
Attempts by the organisers of the event to calm the frayed nerves of the secessionists were not successful.
The activists became violent when it was announced that Azikiwe was to be given a posthumous award for his efforts towards sustaining the unity of the country.
The announcement angered the pro-Biafran agitators, who voiced their condemnation of Azikiwe’s ‘nationalistic politics.’
They blamed Azikiwe for the current travails of the Igbo in Nigeria and insisted on secession.
Efforts by the organisers of the event to subdue the irate youths were met with violence, as the agitators invaded the high table and attacked some of the dignitaries.
The Igbo leaders took off from the venue of the event as the agitators threw stones and other objects at the vehicles that conveyed them.
Several cars were damaged.
Journalists were not spared, as the incensed activists also chased them away from the venue of the event.
Not satisfied with scuttling the event, the agitators took to the streets of Enugu metropolis, chanting solidarity songs and displaying a poster of IPOB leader, Mazi Nnamdi Kanu.
The agitators had blocked some major streets when men of the Enugu State Police Command swooped on them.
Our correspondent learnt that about 20 suspected IPOB members were arrested.
But the spokesman for the Enugu State Police Command, Mr. Ebere Amaraizu, who confirmed the arrests, said “no fewer than 11 suspected IPOB members”’ were apprehended by the police.
Amaraizu said the suspects would be arraigned in court.
Confirming the development, he said, “No fewer than 11 persons suspected to be members of the outlawed Biafran group were nabbed by the Enugu State Police Command operatives today, February 27, 2018.
“They were nabbed based on intelligence information gathered which guided the operatives on the successful operations carried out. Those arrested are helping the operatives in their investigations in relation to their alleged nefarious activities and will be arraigned properly in a law court after investigations are concluded.
“Members of the public are enjoined to be law abiding, security conscious and also to partner with the police.”
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