The Indigenous People of Biafra (IPOB) has accused the Nigerian Police Force of extra-judicial killings in the South-East.
The group was reacting to the killing of three suspected members of its militia wing, Eastern Security Network (ESN), by police in Imo State.
The Imo Police State Command on Saturday confirmed the death of two police officers and three suspected members of ESN during an attack on the Izombe Police Station in the Oguta local government area of the state.
But in a statement issued on Sunday by its spokesman, Emmanuel Powerful, IPOB rejected the police claim that the victims were ESN members.
The group said police tagged the innocent youths as members of IPOB in order to continue with its genocidal agenda in the South-East.
It urged the state’s Commissioner of Police, Abutu Yaro, to commence immediate investigations into the matter.
The statement read: “We the global family of Indigenous People of Biafra (IPOB) under the command and leadership of our great leader, Mazi Nnamdi Kanu, strongly condemn the incessant and unprovoked killing of innocent citizens of Imo State by the Nigeria security agencies supervised by the Commissioner of Police, Imo State, CP Abutu Yaro.
“The victims of this secret genocide are tagged Eastern Security Network (ESN) operatives and IPOB members by the wicked security agencies to give them wrong identity and justify their extra-judicial killing.
“Any criminal or armed robber caught in Imo State now is branded ESN operative by Fulani Police Commissioner in Owerri. The pictures of those in the story published as arrested ESN operatives are suspects of other offenses as well as innocent Biafrans.
“The Nigeria Police had taken it as a norm every month to attack youths and implicate IPOB and ESN.”
IPOB described the killing of innocent people in Imo and the entire South-East as wickedness, slammed leaders in the region for keeping quiet on the matter.
“It is sheer wickedness for the Fulani-controlled police and sister security agencies to be killing Imo youths like fowls after parading them as ESN and IPOB members.
“Our governors, politicians, and traditional rulers are keeping mute but we promise you, people, that it will surely come to you in dangerous ways soon,” it added.
