The Biafra protest by members of the Indigenous People of Biafra (IPOB) turned bloody in Onitsha, Anambra State, yesterday, after no less than seven people lost their lives when the protesters and members of the Joint Task Force (JTF) clashed.
The seven who were killed included two police men, a female passer-by and four pro- Biafra agitators.
Investigations revealed that the protest was organised by members of the IPOB and a faction of the Movement for the Actualisation of the Sovereign State of Biafra (MASSOB), led by the group’s director of information, Uchenna Madu, barricaded all the main entrances into Onitsha, including the main road of the state’s commercial hub.
The agitators, it was learnt, took to the streets to demand the release of Radio Biafra proprietor, Mr. Nnamdi Kanu, his Biafra Zionist Movement (BZM) counter- part, Mr. Benjamin Onwuka and other detained members of the group in the major cities of both the South East and South South geo- political zones for about two weeks.
The protesters shut down Onitsha as they held a procession in the commercial town which created traffic grid-lock and forced many motorists to abandon their vehicles on the roads.
Angered by the alleged killing of four of their members at the Niger-bridge head in the wee hours of yesterday by the JTF operatives, the Biafra agitators numbering thousands, set the Onitsha Central mosque and several vehicles ablaze, with scores of people sustaining various degrees of injuries.
The group later moved to barricade the commercial town, setting bonfires at strategic locations.
Spokesman of the state police command, Mr. Okechukwu Ali who confirmed the skirmishes rather stated that those killed were two policemen – a mobile policeman and one regular policeman.
Following the barricade, commuters going from Lagos had to stop at the Asaba end, as the Niger bridge was blocked; those coming into Onitsha from the Owerri, the Imo State capital, stopped at the fly-over at Obosi, while those traveling to the commercial town were trapped at the former toll-gate at Ogbunike, Oyi local government area.
Following the skirmishes, the state governor, Willie Obiano, warned all involved that his government would no longer tolerate any act in the state that would compromise the security of the state.
“I wish to address you on the ongoing protest staged in Onitsha by the members of the Indigenous People of Biafra and MASSOB.
“The government of Anambra State has been monitoring developments and is greatly concerned about the security of lives and property of residents and visitors to the state.
“As your Governor and Chief Security Officer of the state, I am compelled to act to avert any likely breakdown of law and order.
In all situations, the preservation of human life comes first and I am determined to enforce that
“Since the inception of my administration, we have made the security of lives and property our priority and we are not going to compromise on that”
“I therefore, sincerely appeal to the members of the Indigenous People of Biafra (IPOB), MASSOB and other aggrieved groups and individuals to maintain the peace and resist any attempt by hoodlums to take advantage of the situation and destabilise any part of Anambra State,” the governor warned.