Nigeria Police Force (NPF) said it has revisited its strategies aimed at fighting activities of members of the Indigenous People of Biafra (IPOB) in the Southeast.
Assistant Inspector General of Police (AIG) in charge of Zone 9 Headquarters, Umuahia, Abia State capital, Echeng Eworo Echeng, stated this during his familiarisation visit to Imo State Command, Owerri, yesterday, in response to the two-week sit-at-home recently declared by IPOB in the region.
IPOB, which announced that the order would commence from Monday, July 31, to August 14, urged total compliance from the people.
Echeng, therefore, advised residents of Imo, Abia and Ebonyi states to go about their normal businesses, assuring that security operatives are ready to ensure peace and adequate security in the region.
He reiterated the commitment of his men, in partnership with other security agencies, to ensure that those who intend to enforce the order are stopped.
He said: “Police are out to provide needed security in the South East. We will take the fight to those who don’t want our peace and collective wellbeing.
“We will not allow our life and property to be controlled by these miscreants. We are ready to take them on. This fight is winnable, and we are going to win it.”
Earlier in his speech, the Imo Police Commissioner, CP Mohammed Ahmed Barde, said the strategy adopted by the Command in curbing criminality in the state is yielding positive results.
Barde, who solicited collaborative policing, applauded Governor Hope Uzodimma for his continued support to the Command for effective policing in the state.
Meanwhile, critical stakeholders have expressed fear that incessant killings, destructions of property and sacking of communities have caused devastating impact on socio-economic and political development, as well as livelihoods and civic freedoms in the South East.
In his welcome address at a two-day ‘South East Peace Summit and Public Hearing on Insecurity, Crime and Human Rights Violations,’ organised by Rule of Law and Accountability Advocacy Centre (RULAAC), in partnership with Action Group on Free Civic Space (AGFCS), held in Awka, Anambra State, yesterday, the Executive Director, RULAAC, Ikechukwu Nwanguma, blamed the Federal Government’s mismanagement of the Indigenous People of Biafran (IPOB) agitation as major cause for escalation of violence in the region.
Nwanguma argued that instead of engagement and dialogue to address the factors motivating the agitation, the Federal Government resorted to brutal repression, which has consequently radicalised the once unarmed group, forcing members to take up arms.
He said: “The Federal Government has not demonstrated interest or commitment to South East security. Security agencies commit human rights violations against the people on a daily basis without being held accountable. Yesterday alone, we received troubling reports of killings by security agencies in Enugu and Abia states.
“The Federal government’s actions also watered the ground for splinter groups to emerge along with other opportunistic criminal gangs, which seized and are now almost dominating the landscape with terror.”