By Adesina Soyooye
Jolted by the unprecedented attack by heavily armed hoodlums Monday morning in Owerri, Imo State Correctional Centre and Imo State Police Command, the Inspector General of Police, IGP Mohammed Adamu, has set up a Special Tactical Team for the State. He has also deployed Squads of Special Police Personnel to the State, with a stern warning to fish out all perpetrators of the attack which has shaken the country, and especially the State.
Hoodlums, in their hundreds, heavily armed with sophisticated weapons, including sophisticated guns, bombs and other explosives, descended on Owerri, sacking both the Correctional Centre and the Headquarters of the Police Command.
At the Correctional Centre, they set free over 1,800 prisoners, and at the Police Headquarters, set free scores of detainees. They told those they released to go home, because, like Jesus Christ, they have been set free.
The released prisoners and detainees were heard in a viral video saying: “They told us that Biafra has come, that we should go home”
They razed buildings, and burnt dozens of vehicles. The same group, also, attacked a Military checkpoint at Ukwuoji, sending the soldiers running for their lives on the approach of the group. An army vehicle was burnt down.
IGP Adamu has put the attack on the feet of the Nnamdi Kanu-led Indigenous Peoples Of Biafra, IPOB, and its security arm, the Eastern Security Network, ESN. And so has the Imo State Governor, Senator Hope Uzodinma.
On a tour of both the wrecked Correctional Centre and the Police Command in the company of heads of Security Agencies in the State, Uzodinma described the attackers, who he identified as IPOB members and their operatives as cowardly. He said their aim was to destabilise Imo State, but assured the people of their protection and that their properties.
But in a statement, the IPOB Spokesperson, Emma Powerful, distanced IPOB from the attacks. He said that IPOB and its Security arm, ESN, were too busy pursuing Fulani herdsmen from the forests to undertake such an attack.
To arrest the terrifying situation, according to Police Spokesman CP Frank Mba, IGP Adamu has ordered the immediate deployment of additional units of Police Mobile Force (PMF) and other Police Tactical Squads to Imo State to strengthen security in the State and prevent further attacks on security formations or any other critical national infrastructure in the State.
The directives followed the attack on security operatives and formations including the Imo State Police Command Headquarters and the Headquarters of the Nigerian Correctional Services (NCS) in Owerri in the early hours of today, Monday, 5th April, 2021, Mba said.
Mba revealed that “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).
“The attempt by the attackers to gain access to the Police armoury at the Headquarters was totally and appropriately resisted by Police operatives on duty who repelled the attackers and prevented them from breaking-in and looting the armoury.
“The armoury is thus intact! Similarly, the police suffered no human casualty, apart from a police Constable who sustained a minor bullet wound on his shoulder.
“Meanwhile, one of the operational vehicles of the attackers has been recovered by the Police, and is currently being subjected to forensic scrutiny and investigations.
“The IGP, who condemned the attack on the security outfits, has further directed the Commissioner of Police, Imo State Command and a new Special Investigation Team (specifically set up to deal with cases of incessant attacks on security formation/operatives in the region), to carry out holistic investigations into the incident with a view to fishing-out the perpetrators and bringing them to justice. The CP is to harness the security reinforcement squads and other operational assets at his disposal to take the battle to the door-steps of the attackers and prevent any further attack anywhere within the State and its environs.
“The IGP, who described the deliberate and criminal attack on security operatives as an attack on the soul of our nation, has enjoined leaders in Imo State, the South-East and other parts of the country to speak out against the unfolding violence and criminality. The IGP calls on citizens to avail the Police and other security agencies with useful information that can assist in identifying and arresting the criminals.
“He vowed that the perpetrators will be brought to book, noting that the Force is doing all within its powers to curb the activities of unscrupulous elements hell-bent on threatening the unity, safety, security and socio-ecomomic wellbeing of Nigerians”, Mba said.
Meanwhile, unconfirmed reports say that a few of the prison inmates and detainees have, on their own, returned to both the Correctional Centre and Police Custody.
