… As militants give soldiers Monday to leave Abia

From: TONY JOHN, Port Harcourt

Security has been beefed up in some parts of Rivers State,  particularly in Oyigbo,  the headquarters of Oyigbo Local Government Area of the state believed to be prone to the activities of the Indigenous People of Biafra (IPOB).

Though normalcy had returned in Oyigbo,  after two days mayhem between pro-Biafra agitators and security operatives,  which led to loss of lives and property,  several Police vehicles were stationed at the popular Oyigbo Express junction.

Commuters and other road users, who passed through police check-points in Oyigbo, were forced to raise their hands up.

A senior officer,  who commands  one of the Police units deployed to the troubled council headquarters, told Sunday Sun that they would remain in Oyigbo till absolute peace returns.

The officer,  who did not want to be mentioned,  disclosed that surveillance and intelligence gathering was their priority to forestall further breakdown of law and order in the area.

Meanwhile,  some Niger Delta militant groups have given Nigerian Army till Monday, September 18,  to pull out from Aba, Umuahia and some other troubled places in Abia and Rivers States, or face attacks.

The groups,  Niger Delta People Democratic Front (NDPDF),  Concerned Militant Leaders (CML),  Rainbow Marabas Group (RMG),  Creek Revenge Warriors  (CRW) and Niger Delta Sea Lords (NDSL), said in Port Harcourt, on Saturday,  that the terror unleashed on unarmed IPOB supporters was provocative.

Leaders of the groups,  General Playboy Iyoyo (NDPDF),  General Ben (CML),  General Billy Atigah (RMG), General Dolph Pepple (CRW) and Major General Isdore Oghemgbe (NDSL), accused Federal Government of abusing the fundamental human rights of Igbo people.

Convener of the meeting and Leader of CML,  General Ben,  faulted Federal Government for branding unarmed IPOB as a terrorist group,  stating that it was a plan to exterminate the South Easterners.

Speaking further, Ben condemned the proscription of the activities of the IPOB by the South East governors,  warning that their decision would be counter-productive.

However,  a Port Harcourt-based security expert,  Jackson Ojo,  has said that the declaration of IPOB as a terrorist group by Defence Headquarters,  was timely.

Ojo, who spoke with Sunday Sun in Port Harcourt,  cautioned that Federal Government should not wait until the pro-Biafra agitators start carrying arms, before curbing their excesses.

He explained: “The agitations of Boko Haram that time,  have resemblance with the activities of IPOB.  So,  if Boko Haram was declared a terrorist group,  we should not wait until IPOB starts to kill Nigerians before it would be declared a terrorist group.

“Yes,  IPOB members do not have arms now but,  they have trained their own soldiers and provided uniforms for them.  They have their military outfit. This is the beginning of terrorism. Do you need to wait for them to start carrying arms before something would be done? Federal Government should not wait for Nigerians to die before addressing the situation. It (FG) should not allow the repeat of Boko Haram activities in the South East”,   Ojo warned.