Some residents of Agba community in Ishielu local government area of Ebony Stateon Thursday, arrested a suspected member of the banned Indigenous People of Biafra (IPOB) who was trying to flee the community, police said.
The man, whose identity has not been revealed, was later handed over to police.
The Ebonyi State Police Spokesperson, Onome Onovwakpoyeya, made this disclosure in a statement issued on Thursday in Abakaliki.
The residents’ action highlights the growing unpopularity of IPOB in south-eastern Nigeria and how people, apparently tired of the incessant killings and destruction in the region, have decided to defend themselves against attacks by hoodlums.
IPOB has been leading the agitation for the creation of a sovereign state of Biafra which it wants to separate from the Southeast and some parts of the South-South region, but the group’s activities have caused economic and social disruption, and worsened food security in the Southeast.
In a related development, a suspected IPOB member was shot dead on Wednesday in Ebonyi State when police officers, soldiers and State Security Service officials raided an IPOB camp in Eke-agbebor Isu, Ebonyi State. Onicha local government of the state.
Other suspected IPOB members escaped with gunshot wounds, said Mrs Onovwakpoyeya, police superintendent.
Two suspects, Emmanuel Chinedu, 26, also known as Patho, and Paul Ani, 38, also known as Osah, were detained by officers, who acted on a tip-off, according to police.
The police spokesman said the security team destroyed a shrine in the camp.
“The Commissioner of Police is taking this opportunity to appeal to all hospitals, traditional medicine homes, pharmacies and all residents of Ebonyi to report anyone seeking medical attention with a gunshot wound to the police station nearest,” said Mrs. Onovwakpoyeya.
(YAYA)