Nigerian military personnnel on Wednesday reportedly invaded Isiama Afaraukwu in Umuahia, Abia State, the hometown of Leader of the Indigenous People of Biafra (IPOB), Nnamdi Kanu, who has been missing since September 2017.
According to reports, the invasion was conducted by a combined team that comprised Army, Navy, Police, Immigration and Civil Defence Corps personnel.
The invasion, described as the third in the community, was said to be a show of force ahead of the planned September 14 sit-at-home declared by IPOB to protest the impending Python Dance 3 military operation in the South East geopolitical zone.
The combined team’s invasion was said to have lasted for several hours, scaring many villagers who were wary of the team’s motive.
Read Also: Don’t listen to IPOB on Sept 14 sit-at-home directive – Security agencies
Following the military’s announcement of the impending operation, IPOB had said, “At a time when we are still burying those Operation Python Dance 2 killed and dumped in mass graves across Biafraland in September 2017, here we are today with Nigeria military once again poised to invade the South East, to slaughter the weak and innocent in their annual genocidal ritual in the name of yet another Operation Python Dance 3.”
Reacting to the reported invasion of its leader’s community, IPOB described it as “another military overreach’ by the Fulani controlled hierarchy of the Nigerian defence establishment”.
“This is clear confirmation that the entire east is under siege for no apparent reason other than the need for the Fulani caliphate to prove their dominance over the rest of Nigeria.
“Isiama Afaraukwu it seems is now the favorite exercise range of the Nigerian military. What this confirms is that Nnamdi Kanu is the one person the Fulani caliphate is most terrified of.
“It is a shame the corrupt political class, blinded by their own selfishness and petty jealousy cannot see it. We are alerting the world that this blatant provocation is one of the many reasons why we have called for a nationwide strike on the 14th of September 2018 to protest this Arewa Islamic military occupation of Biafraland,” a statement by the group’s spokesman, Emma Powerful, read.