59 IPOB members arrested will be tried as terrorists - Police
- Fifty nine IPOB members have been arrested by the Nigerian police in Abia state
- Some of the arrested members were paraded at the Ariaria police station in Aba
- The death of a police officer has been linked to the group and they will be tried as terrorists
Anthony Ogbizi, the Abia state police commissioner, has declared that since the Indigenous People of Biafra (IPOB) has been designated a terrorist group, arrested members will be tried as terrorists.
This announcement came as President Muhammadu Buhari held a closed-door meeting with some northern governors before departing for New York where he will be attending the 72nd session of the United Nations General Assembly (UNGA).
Meanwhile, former President Goodluck Jonathan has called for peaceful coexistence among the different ethnic nationalities.
According to Punch, the president of the Senate, Dr Bukola Saraki, said they would meet with security chiefs to chart a path for resolution of contentious issues engendering tension in the southeast.
READ ALSO: IPOB was not set up to fight for the right of anyone or group - Lai Mohammed
Meanwhile, the police paraded seven of the suspected members of IPOB at Ariaria police station in Aba and said they had arrested 59 suspected members of the group in Abia state.
The police also confirmed the death of an officer after an attack by members of the now outlawed group and said the suspects would be prosecuted under the anti-terrorism act to ensure they were properly dealt with.
Ogbizi said IPOB had shown itself to be a terrorist group. “As I am talking to you now, information reaching me said they have started gathering at Nnamdi Kanu’s house,” he said.
READ ALSO: IPOB was not set up to fight for the right of anyone or group - Lai Mohammed
He also called on citizens to help the police with information on the whereabouts of Nnamdi Kanu, and denied the rumours that security agents arrested Kanu’s father.
Meanwhile, Legit.ng earlier reported that the Ijaw Youth Council (IYC) has called on the Nigerian military to delist the IPOB group or any of its affiliate groups as “terrorist organisation”.
The IYC, led by Comrade Roland Oweilaemi Pereotubo, made this call on Sunday, September 17, 2017.
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The group said the declaration of the group as a terrorists organisation is “Unconstitutional” as it is targeted at ending right to freedom of peaceful assembly and association.
Watch this Legit.ng video as Nigerians speak on the IPOB and Operation Python Dance in the southeast:
Source: Legit.ng
