Police arrests 5 ‘IPOB members’ over alleged killing of policeman

 

The police in Imo State said its men have arrested five people suspected to be members of the proscribed Indigenous People of Biafra (IPOB), over alleged killing of Mr Joseph Nwaka, a police sergeant.

A release issued by the Imo police spokesman, SP Orlando Ikeokwu, on Saturday in Owerri, said that the suspects were arrested in Isu Local Government Area of the state, some on Thursday, May 13, and the others on Friday May 14, by the Anti-Kidnapping unit and other tactical teams of the command.

Ikeokwu said that an AK 47 rifle with breech no 56-258115 and 15 Rounds of live ammunition were recovered from the suspects.

He listed other items recovered as four locally fabricated weapons, six live cartridges and a large quantity of weeds suspected to be Indian hemp.

According to Ikeokwu, the killers of Nwaka, who, until his death, was attached to the Command’s Department of Operations, made away with his AK 47 rifle.

He said one of the suspects, Onyekachi Mmadufor, of Umudurukwe, Isu LGA, confessed to being a member of the IPOB, who, along with his cohorts carried out attacks and killings of police and other security personnel.

READ: IPOB renames Imo Government House after late ESN commander Ikonso

He added that the crime prevention and control strategies adopted by the Imo Police Command under the leadership of Commissioner of Police (CP) Abutu Yaro, to rid the state of activities of the proscribed IPOB and other criminal elements were yielding positive results.

“On May 14, the CP deployed Anti-Kidnapping unit and other tactical teams of the command to Amanato Isu LGA for the arrest of members of the IPOB but the hoodlums engaged them in a heavy gun duel.

“The operatives successfully repelled and dislodged them leading to the immediate arrest of five suspects while others escaped with possible gunshot wounds,” the police spokesman narrated, in apparent contradiction to his earlier statement that the suspects were arrested on different days.

He said “discreet investigation” was in progress with a view to effecting further arrests, after which the suspects would be charged to court for prosecution.