The lawyer to Nnamdi Kanu has alleged that men of the Nigerian Army
invaded the home of the leader of the Indigenous People of Biafra on
Thursday afternoon.
In a statement made available to PREMIUM
TIMES, the lawyer, Ifeanyi Ejiofor, accused the Nigerian Army of
declaring war on Mr. Kanu and “innocent, unarmed and defenceless”
supporters of IPOB.
“The Military has declared war on the
innocent, unarmed and defenceless civilians. Sporadic shooting is going
on in the premises of Nnamdi Kanu now.
“The situation is
serious. My client’s whereabouts has remained unknown. His entire house
has
been shattered with bullets and missiles.
“The soldiers had
just forcefully gained entrance into his house after shooting for about
40 minutes. His entrance gate was broken and forced open. Their mission
is still unknown as every person seen in his house has surrendered,
including his aged parents.“We will avail the world with the pictures of these dastardly acts,” Mr. Ejiofor said.
The lawyer called on supporters of Biafra to remain calm in the face of what he described as “unprovoked killings.”
“In
the face of this unprovoked killings, torture, abduction and malicious
destruction of property, I still appeal for calm from IPOB members. Just
be assured that the entire world is watching. Do not take up arms,
continue to conduct yourselves in the most civilized manner you are well
known for,” Mr. Ejiofor said.Mr. Ejiofor has repeatedly
accused the Nigerian army of plotting to forcefully take down his
client, alleging that several members of the IPOB have already been
killed by the soldiers.
On Sunday, the lawyer accused the army of attacking IPOB members, ‘without provocation’ killing several people.
“They
had continued to shot sporadically into the air through which assault,
about five of his family members were brutally wounded and some
unfortunately killed.
“There is no doubt that the present
deployment of troops to the South East is to haunt for my client and
possibly eliminate him,” the statement said.There has,
however, not been any evidence of deaths, although there have been
reported injuries to civilians as well as security personnel.A
video footage forwarded to PREMIUM TIMES by Mr. Ejiofor regarding the
said killings, indicated that soldiers driving past the neighbourhood of
Mr. Kanu’s residence in Abia State were being pelted with stones by the
IPOB members, who appeared to also be armed with sticks, as seen in the
footage, shortly before one of the IPOB members was shot in the leg.
Reacting
to the allegations, the Nigerian army denied attacking the
agitators without provocation, adding that the presence of soldiers in
the area was a continuation of a military exercise in the south-eastern
region of the country, tagged: Operation Python Dance 2.
In a
similar development, the Nigerian army has vowed to investigate another
videofootage where some members of IPOB were seen tortured by men
alleged to have been military operatives.
In a third video seen
Thursday evening by PREMIUM TIMES, unclear sounds are heard while a
cameraman goes round Mr. Kanu’s house, describing what he (the camera
man) called ‘shootings by soldiers’ at the gate of Mr. Kanu’s residence.
The army is yet to speak on the current development.
However,
the police on Thursday confirmed that suspected IPOB members burnt down
a police station and assaulted an officer in Aba, the state’s
commercial centre.
A dusk to dawn curfew on Aba was extended by the state governor to Friday.
Source: Premiumtimes
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