New Telegraph

Wike: I didn’t order army to kill in Oyigbo

Against the backdrop of the allegation that Rivers State Governor, Nyesom Wike, ordered the ongoing military operations in communities in Oyigbo Local Government Area for the purpose of killing Igbo people, the governor has distanced himself from such action, describing the allegation as a politically motivated falsehood.

 

During the recent End- SARS protest in the state, suspected members of the Indigenous Peoples of Biafra (IPOB) allegedly killed three policemen, burnt down three police stations and looted ammunition and firearms, a development which forced the governor to ban IPOB activities in Oyigbo as well as imposed a 24- hour curfew in the area.

 

But, some residents of the area have lamented that the combined activities of the Nigerian Air  Force, the Army and the Police, which include house-to-house raids in search for looted items and the arrest of IPOB members, leading to the death of some residents and destruction of properties.

 

On a Live television programme yesterday, Wike maintained that curfew was imposed in Oyigbo to restore order and return calm after IPOB members killed six soldiers, four policemen and destroyed police stations and court buildings in the area. He said the narrative that Igbo people were being killed by the military was intended to shift attention from the despicable activities of IPOB in Oyigbo, which is a boundary area adjoining Abia State.

 

“I know that this is not the first time IPOB has used Oyigbo as a launching ground. The security agencies are aware. IPOB added a new dimension this time. They killed six army officers and burnt one.

 

They killed four police officers and destroyed all the police stations and the court buildings. What offense did we commit as a state? “I imposed curfew to restore calm. I proscribed IPOB activities anywhere in the state. You should not also forget that the Federal Government had declared them a terrorist group. It is not the entire Igbo people that believe in IPOB activities.

 

“So, it is not true that I ordered the military to kill Igbo people in Oyigbo. When did I become a friend to the military? So, what about the Igbo living elsewhere in the state are also being killed?” He added: “I have no relationship with the army or the police; I do not command them.

 

They change the Commissioner of Police every time. How will I begin to direct the army that I do not give instruction?” Wike, who faulted IPOB’s effrontery to rename a local government in the state and hoist its flag in a public school in Komkom Town, noted: “I will not fold my arms and watch criminals destroy my state; if those few criminals are Igbo then they should know that I will not allow them.

 

They made an attempt to rename a local government in my state. That alone is a signal. I will not agree to that. I know who is doing all these; who has told them to rise, protest against Wike.”

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