•Police arrest 156 suspects in Delta•No going back on Biafra, Uwazuruike insists
Leaders of the Movement for the Actualisation of the Sovereign State of Biafra (MASSOB), Southsouth zone, have demanded the release of their members who were arrested when the police raided Chief Ralph Uwazuruike’s home at Owerri.
Rising from an emergency meeting in Obigbo, Obigbo local government area of Rivers State, MASSOB leaders, led by the regional administrator, Commander Obinna Nwosu, demanded the release of their members.
Nwosu said they converged in Port Harcourt to show solidarity with their leader, Chief Ralph Uwazuruike, and to demand the release of those arrested.
He said MASSOB, as a peaceful organisation recognised worldwide, would not resort to self-help by causing problems, but would not accept any intimidation and harassment against its members.
He accused the police of chasing shadows by arresting the innocent members, adding that the police should instead, channel their efforts towards arresting criminals that have taken over the state.
His words: “We have accepted Biafra as our own nation and that is why MASSOB members no longer talk in fear. The arrest of our members in Imo State did not go down well with us and we demand the unconditional release of those arrested.
“The Federal government cannot intimidate us; we have been on this struggle for years and as far as we are concerned, the arrest is politically-motivated. But one thing is certain; no government will end the Biafra struggle.”
But the Delta State Police Command said it arrested 156 persons suspected to be members of the Movement.
Police spokesman Celestina Kalu said 11 of the suspects were being held for investigations while others, including women and children, were warned and released.
She said those detained were the ring leaders and they would be prosecuted at the end of investigations.
Kalu said the suspects were arrested while they held their meeting at Oneh Primary School in Asaba.
Items recovered from the group included a CD plate, group photograph of members and the United Nation’s Declaration on the Rights of Indigenous People.
Others were Biafra National Anthem, World latest vote on Biafra, a Sony camera and a book, Agueleri: The pivot of the Bani-Israil in Nigeria.
The spokesman said anyone who contravenes the law would face the wrath of the law.
Leader of the Movement, Chief Ralph Uwazuruike, has reported at the Criminal Investigation Department (CID) of the Imo State police command.
He was taken to the Zone 9 Headquarters in Umuahia after a closed-door meeting with the police Commissioner, Taiwo Lakanu.
Police spokesman Andrew Enwerem said Uwazuruike was summoned over the group’s activities.
“MASSOB and its activities are outlawed and his invitation was not unconnected to that. Yes he reported at the command’s headquarters this morning (yesterday) and he was moved to see the Assistant Inspector General of Police (AIG) in charge of Zone 9,” Enwerem said.
But Uwazuruike, briefing reporters after his release insisted that “there is no going back on the struggle for Biafra”.
“I was not at home on Saturday when I got a call that policemen have invaded my home. In the morning, I got a letter from the Commissioner of Police and when I reported, he told me he does not want MASSOB but I told him he cannot stop me; there is no going back on Biafra and I was taken to Umuahia to see the AIG.
“At Umuahia, the AIG vouched for my non-violent stance on the struggle for Biafra. Anyone who does not want MASSOB should leave Igbo land,” Uwazuruike said.
He however distanced his group from the activities of other splinter groups that have engaged in criminal activities, saying “no MASSOB man has ever been caught for stealing, kidnapping, raping and other crimes. We are non- violent but no one can stop Biafra.”