SaharaReporters had reported how the police and the military raided innocent residents from certain communities in the South-East, giving specific names of some of the victims in custody.
Five more innocent
residents of Imo State who were wrongly arrested and labelled by the Imo State
Police Command have been released from custody.
SaharaReporters had
reported on Monday how the police and the military raided innocent residents
from certain communities in the South-East, giving specific names of some of
the victims in custody.
On Thursday, the
police released an oil worker, Ibe Casmir Ibegbulem, one of those wrongly
arrested and falsely labelled as unknown gunmen, after SaharaReporters’ story.
Sources monitoring
the cases told SaharaReporters that five others were also on Thursday night
released after the report.
“They were released
on Thursday night from the Imo State Police Headquarters. The five newly freed
citizens are Smith Amadikwa, Casmir Ugbor, Ojukwu Ukonu, Emeka Mbonu and
Engineer Ikechukwu Okomah. They were wrongly arrested between May 12 and 19 and
labelled as 'ESN (Eastern Security Network) hoodlums that attacked Imo State
Correctional/Prisons Headquarters and others,” one of the sources said.
SaharaReporters had
on May 19 reported how the Nigerian Army and the police intelligence response
team stormed houses in the South-East states and arrested suspected members of
the Indigenous People of Biafra (IPOB) and Eastern Security Network officials
in a house-to-house raid.
There was a
shoot-out on Douglas Road, Owerri, yesterday between the army, the police and
unknown gunmen who were said to be aggrieved over the indiscriminate arrests.
The army personnel are all over Onicha-Igboeze LGA and are going from house to
house, picking up suspected IPOB members and their families,” a source had
stated.
“Some of our
brothers were abducted here in Igwuocha and in Borokiri (Rivers State) by the
police who tagged them as unknown gunmen. Our people are seriously under
attack,” another source had confirmed.
SaharaReporters had
reported how the military drafted reinforcement troops from some of its
formations fighting insurgency in Borno State to join the troops in the
South-East region over the military’s clash with IPOB and ESN operatives.
Military sources
had confirmed to SaharaReporters that the reinforcements were drawn from some
battalions including the 231 Tank Battalion in Biu, Borno State, which is under
the 3 Armoured Division, Jos, Plateau State.
“Yes, some troops
are moving from the North-East to the South-East as reinforcements. They
started moving from Wednesday. Among them are those from the 231 Tank
Battalion; they are believed to be more trained in quelling uprisings,” a top
source had confirmed.
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