- Orders Council Chairmen, Others To Fish Out IPOB Members
By Gbenga Abulude (Politics and General Desk)
Rivers State Governor, Nyesom Wike, has warned the proscribed group, Indigenous Peoples Organisation of Biafra (IPOB) to steer clear of any part of Rivers State as there was no room for them to annex any part of the state.
Wike ordered all the local council chairmen and youths in the state to fish out members of IPOB in the State, warning that any local government chairmen that abhors IPOB members or allows the group to hoist its flag within their territory risks being sacked as local chairmen of the area.
Recall that last Wednesday, hoodlums suspected to be members of the proscribed IPOB under the guise of #EndSARS protests invaded Oyigbo Local Government Area where they launched attacks on the Area Command, Oyigbo and Afam Police Stations and burnt down the three Stations.
During the attacks, several vehicles were burnt and three policemen were hacked to death and burnt to ashes.
Following this development, the Rivers State Commissioner of Police, Mr Joseph Mukan paraded 21 suspected members of IPOB allegedly involved in the violence that greeted the End SARS protest in the state.
The IPOB suspects were arrested in Oyigbo and Port Harcourt Local government areas respectively.
Wike, on Monday in a meeting with all the 23 Local Government chairmen, Community Development Committees and youths leaders at the Government House in Port Harcourt described Rivers state as the most accommodating state for all Nigerians.
The Governor, while urging the people of Rivers State to be vigilant, warned IPOB members not to deceive themselves because Rivers State could not be colonised or annexed by any group while he is still the incumbent governor of the State.
He reiterated that the state would never be annexed to any state or zone. According to him, Rivers is in Niger Delta and will continue to remain in the region.
Wike explained that while every Nigerian was allowed to reside in Rivers, those who wished to do so must live in peace with the people of the state.
“Igbos are living and doing their business here and they will continue to live and do their business here. We support that. But that terrorist group call IPOB, cannot determine what happens in our state. To tell us where they own. It will never happen and we must not allow it to happen.”
The Rivers State governor, explained that there had never been any clash of ethnic groups in the state since inception unlike other parts of the country but that will not make the people of Rivers to allow criminals under the name of a terrorist group called IPOB to continue to threaten the stability of the state.
“We can never be against any ethnic group. We can never do that. We have lived in harmony with the Igbo, the Hausas, and with Edo people. Everybody that comes to this state we have lived in harmony with. And so Nigerians must commend Rivers State as a place where you have never had problem between this group and that group.
“There is one terrorist group they call IPOB. I did not declare them terrorist group, the court declared them terrorist group. Not me. The federal government declared them a terrorist group. IPOB cannot use Rivers state to be place where they will be launching attack. If you allow that, your future, your children’s future is gone”.
“Go to Oyigbo and see what they have done. Destroyed the Court. What did the Court do? See the soldiers they killed and burnt them. See the Policemen they killed and burnt them and then you said people will sit and fold their arms,” he said.
Wike, however said nobody of Igbo extraction legitimately residing and doing business in the state must be harassed.
He called on the people to defend the territory of Rivers and ensure no part of the State was annexed by a criminal organisation or terrorist organization.
“But there are criminal elements that we must not allow, and the criminal elements are those who said they are IPOB members. Federal government has proscribed them, I have proscribed them.
“We cannot allow it. All our vigilante groups must be encouraged. Everybody must be at alert. Work with the security agencies to make sure nothing call IPOB exists in this state. No procession. Not even a meeting anywhere. Identify where they hold meeting,” he said
