MASSOB declares war on Police

Members of the Movement for the Actualization of the Sovereign State
of Biafra, MASSOB on Friday gave the Nigeria police and other security
agencies a four-day ultimatum to release over 11 of its members who
were recently arrested and shot in Onitsha.
Addressing journalists in the commercial city of Onitsha, the MASSOB
administrator for Awka North region, Mr. Tony Nwodo said the movement
has given the police just four days to release all its members
arrested or charge them to court.
He further called for the immediate release of the corpse of one
Chimezie allegedly shot dead by a joint team of army and police at
Nkwelle Ezunanka recently during a shoot-out, adding that after the
expiration of the ultimatum, the movement may explore alternative
avenue to seek justice.
Mr. Nwodo also accused the police of torturing MASSOB members while
raising the alarm over the whereabouts of over five members of the
body, adding: "We are still searching for five of our members who got
missing after the police shot one of us"
He gave the names of the detainees as Ifeanyi Pota, Ifeanyi Agbom,
Kelechi Nkwuta, Emeka Martin, Chibuike Okafor, Osita Anene and
Chimezie who was shot dead during the operation. He also said John
Okechukwu, Chidubem Sunday, Okafor Ede, Emeka Nwani and Greg Chimezie
are still missing.
The regional administrator further challenged the police and other law
enforcement agencies to charge their members to court if they were
found to have committed any crime, adding that they would be forced to
go to court to seek redress over the alleged killing of their member.
"The police should release our members within these four days we have
graciously given to them. Our members are not criminals and MASSOB has
stood tall in maintaining law and order in the state and Igbo land in
general", he said.
He wondered why police and other security agencies could be hunting
for MASSOB members, maiming and killing them without any
justification. "We have taken our case to the International Court of
Justice (ICJ) at The Hague to look into the inhuman treatment we are
facing in Nigeria" he said.