The Commissioner of Police in Abia State, Anthony Ogbizi, has said that lethal weapons, including petrol bombs and one double-barrel gun, were recovered during last Sunday’s raid of the residence of the leader of the Indigenous People of Biafra (IPOB), Nnamdi Kanu.
Mr. Ogbizi said this on Thursday during an interaction with newsmen in Umuahia, adding that the items were recovered during a joint operation by security personnel in the state.
He said that the petrol bombs were found in buckets and incriminating documents and letters, concerning IPOB’s activities and plans, were also recovered during the raid.
He said that the raid was carried out based on an intelligence report, regarding the continued activities of some members of the group.
“We recovered many of Biafra’s insignia, staff of office and some of those items are being analysed,” Mr. Ogbizi said.
The police boss said that the operation also led to the arrest of one suspected member of IPOB.
He said that the team also discovered the telephone numbers of the group’s zonal coordinators, adding that all the communications between the leadership of the group and their collaborators would be thoroughly analysed.
Mr. Ogbizi said that a Biafran flag was also found hanging on a telecommunications mast in the area.
According to him, the police will ask the Nigeria Communications Commission to sanction any telecommunication company that allowed its mast to be used to hoist Biafran flags.
He said that the activities of IPOB in the Southeast were “stirring insurrection” and that security agencies would not fold their arms and watch the group foment violence in the country.
He said that members of the group allegedly set a police station and van ablaze in Aba, and also attacked a military patrol team in Umuahia.
The police chief said that similar joint operations would be carried out intermittently in Kanu’s residence, anytime they received intelligence report that offensive weapons were brought to the place.
He said that it was wrong to say that the military was taking over the duties of the police rather the action should be seen as a synergy between the two organisations to check security challenges.
Mr. Ogbizi said that he would not hesitate to invite the army anytime the security situation in the state grew beyond the capacity of the police.
(NAN)
