Three killed as Biafra secessionists attack Nigerian broadcast station
Category: Nigerian National News
Mr. Onwuka, a lawyer, had last year declared a Biafra Republic led by himself.
At least one police officer and two others died, Thursday, in Enugu,
southeast Nigeria, after secessionists promoting the re-emergence of
Biafra attempted to take over a broadcast station in the state.
The group known as Biafra Zionists Federation, BZF, stormed Enugu
State Broadcasting Service’s office at dawn with “gallons of petrol and
dangerous weapons” in an attempt to seize the station for a broadcast by
its leader, Benjamin Onwuka.
Mr. Onwuka, a lawyer, had last year declared a Biafra Republic led by himself, in the region.
Sources in Enugu State governor’s office told PREMIUM TIMES the group
planned to seize the government station to have its leader broadcast a
speech re-affirming his declaration of the Biafra Republic last year.
A police sergeant guarding the facility was reportedly killed as the
local police tried to repel the group. Two members of the group were
also reportedly killed as they fled scene.
Our sources said the leader of the group has been arrested. He was
arrested with some of his members as they fled the broadcast station.
Trouble in the East
The attack on the broadcast station is the second by the group in
three months. In March, the group carried out a failed attack on the
Enugu State government house leaving many guards injured.
Since returning to democratic rule, groups in Nigeria’s southeast
have made several attempts to re-enact a secession idea that led to
Nigeria’s three year civil war in 1967. The groups, infamous for their
ideas, have always been contained by state forces.
The most widely known of such groups, Movement for the Actualization
of the Sovereign State of Biafra, MASSOB, has so far adopted semi-civil
means of pressing its demands.
MASSOB embarks on activities such as hoisting Biafran flags in local
communities, persuasions and in some instances, forcing residents of the
region to observe certain rules.
In January last year, MASSOB claimed ‘50 bodies’ floated in Anambra
River, near Awka, the Anambra State capital were its members killed by
the police.
Delicate issue
Discussions or activities around the Nigerian Civil War (1967-1970)
are described as “delicate” and are sometimes suppressed by the
government.
Recently, a widely celebrated movie, Half of a Yellow Sun,
chronicling the Nigerian Civil War was stopped from premiering in
Nigerian cinemas. The movie is an adaptation of a book of the same name
written by Nigeria’s Chimamanda Adichie.
“Is it right to release such a film at this time with the security
challenges in the country?” chairman of Nigeria’s Video and Film
Censorship Board, Patricia Bala, said on Thursday.
She argued that the security challenge in Nigeria at the moment is a huge factor in approving the movie for public viewing.
Nigeria is currently battling Boko Haram insurgency, which has killed
over 12,000 people; and a mix of militancy and oil theft in its oil
rich Niger Delta region.
The police in Enugu are yet to make any categorical statement on the fate of the arrested secessionists.
Ebere Amaraizu, spokesperson of the state’s police command, demanded more time when PREMIUM TIMES made inquiries.
The Enugu State governor, Sullivan Chime, is also yet to make an
official statement on the issue. He is away in Abuja, officials of the
government house told PREMIUM TIMES.
Source: Premium Times
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