By Our Reporter
Mr Emma Powerful, spokesman of the Indigenous People of Biafra (IPOB), Tuesday, claimed the masterminds of terrorism at Enugu-Ezike, Igboeze North LGA in Enugu State ‘are hoodlums recruited by autopilots, who were driven out of Anambra and Imo states’.
According to him, the alleged ‘hoodlums found their way to Enugu-Ezike’, adding that IPOB/ESN ‘has no camp at Enugu-Ezike’.
Recall that the state police command recently raided a forest in the area where they uncovered the decomposing corpse of one Jonathan Okpanachi, a police officer, among other discoveries. The police, after the raid, alleged that ESN had their base there. The recurring terrorist activities in the area led to the imposition of curfew in the LGA by the state government some months ago.
Emma Powerful exonerated his group. He said, “IPOB wishes to reiterate to the general public, especially the people of Enugu-Ezike, that those in their community and other parts terrorising them are not IPOB volunteers or ESN operatives.
“The ESN stopped recruiting personnel two years ago. Therefore, anybody deceiving and presenting him or herself to have joined the ESN recently is working with infiltrators and will die in the hands of security agencies.
“ESN does not have any operational camp at Enugu-Ezike, Igbo-Eze, Enugu North areas. Those terrorising men and women of God, including traditional rulers, are not ESN operatives or IPOB volunteers.
“IPOB and ESN do not call people to bring money to them. Anybody who wishes to support ESN operatives does so willingly and voluntarily without force or threat. The youths of the affected communities must come out and identify the criminals, because IPOB is coming out to deal with them.
“Those claiming to be autopilots without aeroplanes are not members of IPOB. We cannot allow them to destroy IPOB’s image. Autopilots are free to do anything in their name but not impersonating IPOB.”
