Founder of the Movement for the Actualisation of the Sovereign State of Biafra (MASSOB), Ralph Uwazuruike, has accused the Nigerian military of invading his home and abducting four of his security guards.
The separatist leader made the claims in a statement issued through his Director of Information, Chris Mocha on Monday.
According to the statement, soldiers laid siege to Uwazuruike’s country home in Okwe, Onuimo Local Government of Imo State and abducted the security guards on Sunday night.
He said the siege was carried out without provocation and the invading soldiers did not explain the reason for the invasion.
“Some Nigerian soldiers stormed my Okwe country home and abducted four of my security details guarding MASSOB Freedom House in Onuimo Local Government.
“No provocation led to the abduction and no explanation was offered by the soldiers,” the statement read in part.
“The soldiers arrived at Freedom House in a Navy blue Sienna car and sighted the MASSOB security men in front of the gate to the MASSOB Freedom House. The five soldiers walked straight to my security men and started flogging them without any explanation or provocation.
“The soldiers, after beating my members, blindfolded them with clothes and whisked them away to an unknown destination,” he added.
He identified the abductees as Comrades Enoch Chukwuemeka, Joseph Ekpeyong, Sunday Osulor and Goodluck Chukwuemeka.
Uwazuruike called on the Commander of 32 Artillery Brigade, Obinze, near Owerri, to release his security men.
The Leader of Biafra Independence Movement (BIM) said neither the group nor MASSOB has ever been indicted or found wanting by security reports “because of the peaceful approach to our agitation for Biafra”.
Reacting, the Army spokesman, Joseph Akubo, said soldiers don’t abduct but only arrest people who have questions to answer.
“We arrested them because they were carrying IPOB insignia and flags.IPOB is a terrorist organisation,” he said.
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