Imo attacks: IPOB, IGP trade words, as Buhari orders arrest of perpetrators
By Ayo Fadimu
The proscribed Indigenous People of Biafra (IPOB) has distanced itself from Monday’s attacks on Police and Correctional Service headquarters in Imo State just as the Inspector General of Police (IGP), Mohammed Adamu insisted the outlawed group carried out the attack.
IPOB Media and Publicity Secretary, Emma Powerful, said in a statement issued in Owerri on Monday that the group was formed on the principle of peace and would not compromise its principles.
It would also not attack government’s facilities, he stated.
“The attention of IPOB has been drawn to the fallacious and fabricated reports that it is involved in the attack of prison and police headquarters in Imo.
“IPOB and Eastern Security Network (ESN) are known groups, not unknown gunmen. ESN is in the bush chasing terrorists and have no business with the said attacks.
“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,’’ he stated.
Our Correspondent reports that headquarters of the Police in Imo State as well as that of the Correctional Service were attacked at about 2 a.m. on Monday by unknown gunmen.
The Monday attack on the Nigerian Correctional Service (NCS) by unknown gunmen saw 1,844 inmates set free.
According to the Public Relations Officer of the Service, Francis Enobore in a statement in Abuja said the attackers stormed the facilities in the early hours of Monday morning .
According to him, the attackers “gained entrance into the yard by using explosives to blast the administrative block.
“The Owerri Custodial Centre in Imo State has been attacked by unknown gunmen and forcefully released a total of 1,844 inmates in custody.
“The attackers who stormed the facility at about 0215hrs on Monday 5th April, 2021, gained entrance into the yard by using explosives to blast the administrative block.
“They were said to have arrived the centre in their large number in several Hilux pick-up vans and Sienna Buses armed with sophisticated weapons and immediately engaged the security personnel on duty in a fierce gun battle.
“They eventually detonated the explosive to gain entrance.
“The Acting Controller-General of Corrections, John Mrabure has ordered a comprehensive investigation into the incident and in collaboration with other security organisations, commenced a search and recover operations to recapture the fleeing inmates.
“While appealing to the good citizens of Imo State and indeed Nigerians to volunteer useful intelligence that will facilitate the recovery effort, the Ag. Controller-General wishes to assure that the security of custodial centres in the country remains sacrosanct.
“He equally directed all officers attached to custodial facilities to remain vigilant at this trying moment in our history.
“As at the last count, 6 inmates have so far voluntarily returned to the facility while 35 inmates refused to escape from custody during the attack.”
However, police authorities have accused members of the proscribed Indigenous People of Biafra (IPOB) and Eastern Security Network(ESN) of freeing the inmates.
A statement on Monday by the Force Public Relations Officer, CP Frank Mba said, “Preliminary investigations have revealed that the attackers, who came in their numbers with sophisticated weapons such as General Purpose Machine Guns (GPMGs), Sub-Machine Guns (SMGs), AK49 rifles, Rocket Propelled Grenades (RPGs), Improvised Explosive Devices (IEDs), are members of the proscribed Indigenous People of Biafra (IPOB)/Eastern Security Network (ESN).
“They set hundreds of inmates free from the Correctional Centre and set many vehicles there ablaze.”
In the meantime, President Muhammadu Buhari has condemned the deadly insurgent attack that took place on the Police Command Headquarters and the Correctional Facility in Owerri, Imo.
In a statement by his spokesman, Malam Garba Shehu, in Abuja on Monday, Buhari described the onslaught as an act of terrorism, saying the anarchists must be brought to justice.
Reacting to the incident, the president praised the initial response by security guards and security forces for preventing greater loss of life and the destruction of public property.
He directed security and intelligence agencies in the state and the geo-political zone to fully mobilize and go after the terrorists, apprehend them and get them punished under the full weight of the law.
Buhari also called for the best efforts to be made to rearrest fleeing prison detainees, many of whom were believed to be deadly criminals.
He, therefore, appealed to members of the public to assist the law enforcement agencies with any relevant information that could lead to the apprehension of these criminals who perpetrated this despicable act.
The president also urged members of the public to be vigilant as “all of us have a stake in preserving our way of life from disruption by terrorists and anarchists.”
He assured that the Federal Government would continue to use every available tool at its disposal to “confront and terminate this bare-faced anarchy.”
Meanwhile soldiers have been drafted to secure the Government House in Owerri. The troops already barricaded arterial roads to the facility.
