The Inspector-General of Police (IGP), Mohammed Adamu, Monday accused the Eastern Security Network (ESN), a security outfit of the Indigenous Peoples of Biafra (IPOB) of carrying out the attacks on the Imo State Police Headquarters and the state headquarters of the Nigerian Correctional Services (NCS).
However, the Media and Publicity Secretary of the IPOB has denied the allegation describing it as “fallacious and fabricated”.
According to the IGP, preliminary investigations revealed that the operatives of the ESN attacked the facilities with various sophisticated weapons ranging from General Purpose Machine Gun(GPMGs), Sub-Machine Guns (SMGs) to AK49 rifles.
Gunmen in the early hours of Monday attacked a correctional facility in Owerri, the Imo State capital, freeing about 800 inmates.
They also attacked the State Police Headquarters setting ablaze the building and destroying all vehicles within the vicinity
In a statement signed by the Police Public Relations Officer (PPRO), CP Frank Mba, the IGP directed the Imo State Commissioner of Police to carry out a thorough investigation into the incident to bring the perpetrators to book.
The IGP also ordered the immediate deployment of additional units of Police Mobile Force (PMF) and other Police Tactical squads to Imo State, to help the state police command .
The statement read in part, “The Inspector-General of Police, IGP M. A. Adamu … has ordered the immediate deployment of additional units of Police Mobile Force (PMF) and other Police Tactical Squads to Imo State to strengthen security in the state and prevent further attacks on security formations or any other critical national infrastructure in the state. The IGP gave the directives following the attack on security operatives and formations, including the Imo State Police Command Headquarters and the headquarters of the Nigerian Correctional Services (NCS) in Owerri in the early hours of today, Monday, 5th April, 2021. Preliminary investigations have revealed that the attackers, who came in their numbers with sophisticated weapons such as General-Purpose Machine Guns (GPMGs), Sub-Machine Guns (SMGs), AK49 rifles, Rocket Propelled Grenades (RPGs), Improvised Explosive Devices (IEDs), are members of the proscribed Indigenous People of Biafra (IPOB)/Eastern Security Network (ESN). The attempt by the attackers to gain access to the police armoury at the headquarters was totally and appropriately resisted by police operatives on duty who repelled the attackers and prevented them from breaking in and looting the armoury. The armoury is thus intact! Similarly, the police suffered no human casualty, apart from a police constable who sustained a minor bullet wound on his shoulder. Meanwhile, one of the operational vehicles of the attackers has been recovered by the police and is currently being subjected to forensic scrutiny and investigations…”
The ESN security outfit was launched by the IPOB’s leader, Nnamdi Kanu, in December 2020, in a bid to protect the people of South-East and South-South regions from terrorists and bandits.
According to Kanu, the sole aim of the ESN is to halt every criminal activities in the two regions.
But the IPOB had denied the allegation by the IGP describing it as a ‘fallacious and fabricated news’, adding that the ESN are not known for causing violence rather, they are known for protecting the peace of the Biafra people.
This was contained in a statement signed by the Media and Publicity Secretary, IPOB, Emma Powerful.
According to the statement, the operatives of the ESN has no intention to destroy any property or cause havoc as they were in the bush chasing the alleged Fulani terrorist away from their region
The statement read in part, “The attention of the Indigenous People of Biafra (IPOB) has been drawn again to the fallacious and fabricated news that IPOB and ESN are involved in the attack of prison and police headquarters in Owerri Imo State. IPOB and ESN are known group not unknown gunmen. ESN is in the bush chasing Fulani terrorists, why linking IPOB and ESN to this attack? IPOB and ESN were not involved in the attack in Owerri Imo State. and the recent attack on Onitsha Owerri road at Ukwuorji junction. It is not our mandate to attack security personnel or prison facilities. The Nigeria Government and her compromised media outfits should stop linking IPOB and ESN to the multiple attacks going on in Nigeria now. IPOB was formed on principle of peace and we are still in it. Unknown gunmen is a different people which we don’t know them and they are not IPOB or ESN security outfit.”
