Posted by CAJETAN MMUTA, Asaba on
POLICE in Delta State have arrested eight members of the Movement for the Actualisation of the Sovereign State of Biafra (MASSOB) for allegedly convening an illegal meeting.
POLICE in Delta State have arrested eight members of the Movement for the Actualisation of the Sovereign State of Biafra (MASSOB) for allegedly convening an illegal meeting.
They were arrested in Obiaruku last weekend, following a tip off that they were having a secret meeting at the Ezemeka Primary School.
Police Public Relations Officer (PPRO) in the State, Miss Olabisi Okuwobi, who confirmed the arrest yesterday, said the suspects would soon appear in court to answer to charges to be preferred against them.
A source close to the state police command headquarters in Asaba said the MASSOB members were nabbed with some items such as map and membership cards.
Miss Okuwobi said the suspects now in detention were being interrogated.
She advised members of the public using the state as a launching pad for illegal activities of the group to steer clear as the police would do everything possible to wipe out the operations of MASSOB.
Meanwhile, the continued clampdown on members of the MASSOB by police and State Security Service (SSS) officials in the state has been condemned by followers of MASSOB who insisted that they had right to agitate.
Chief Sunday Olisa, in an interview with Daily Champion, said the arrest of the MASSOB members was a waste of time and intimidation by security operatives, adding that there is no law yet proscribing the activities of ethnic groups in the country.
He wondered why security men are after MASSOB, even though ethnic militias in other parts of the country are allowed to operate without molestation.
"The police and SSS officials should allow these people (MASSOB) to exercise their rights as no law is in place banning their legitimate operations," he stated.
Also, Mr. Azuka Okonkwo, a businessman, said "the action of Police and SSS men is to further intimidate the Igbo speaking people of the country," adding that if the security outfits deem it necessary to nip the activities of ethnic militias in the bud "they should not deal with Peter and spare Paul."