The Governor of Ebonyi State, Dave Umahi, has said some criminals are committing crimes under the guise of the Indigenous People of Biafra (IPOB) and Eastern Security Network (ESN) in the South East.
The governor made the comment on Thursday while appearing on an interview on Channels Television’s ‘Sunrise Daily’.
“The truth of what is happening is that there are bandits everywhere; there are cultists everywhere. What happens now in the South-East is that criminals, who may not necessarily be members of IPOB and ESN, will go and commit crimes and they need a name.
“So it’s safer for them to say they are members of ESN, and IPOB so that the persecution of IPOB and ESN by the Federal Government will cover them.
“That is what is happening in South-East because IPOB and ESN have a number of times come out to say they are not into terrorism and violence, and the people burning police stations and killing are not their members. And so how do you reconcile the two?” he said.
Umahi called on South-East governors to rise against the ugly attacks on security outfits, especially police stations in the region.
He added that “It is a monster that we must not allow to arise in the South-East. When they finish with that (attacking police stations) they will start attacking stakeholders to kill them.”
IPOB has been blamed for the recent attacks on prisons and police stations in the South-East while the proscribed IPOB has denied the claims, saying that they are agitators, not gunmen.
Few hours after gunmen attacked the Nigerian Correctional Services and the Police Headquarters in the Imo State, releasing some inmates, the Inspector-General of Police (IGP) Mohammed Adamu, revealed that the proscribed Indigenous People of Biafra (IPOB)/Eastern Security Network (ESN) was responsible for the attacks.
In response to this, IPOB maintained that they are not gunmen, they are agitators.
“We were not involved in the attack in Owerri and the recent attack on Onitsha-Owerri road at Ukwuorji junction.
“It is not our mandate to attack security personnel or prison facilities,’’ the Media and Publicity Secretary of the group, Emma Powerful said.
However, the Imo State Governor, Hope Uzodinma, while reacting to the attacks in the South-East, blamed aggrieved politicians, saying that their aim was to destabilized his government and that of President Muhammadu Buhari.
The governor made the comment three days after the gunmen attacked the Nigerian Correctional Services and the Police Headquarters in Imo State, he explained that the security agencies have gathered intelligence on the sponsors of the thugs and their planning leading to the attacks on the government establishment.
