MASSOB Sues Police Over Arrest Of Members And Invasion Of Offices

                            

Movement for Actualization of Sovereign State of Biafra (MASSOB), has said every arrangement has been put in place to drag the inspector- General (IGP), commissioner of police (CP) Anambra State and Divisional police officer (DPO) Otuocha division, to court for illegally raiding the Anambra North zonal office at Umueri.

Deputy national director for information, Mazi Chris Mocha who briefed journalists in Onitsha, on Monday after its meeting in Awkuzo in Oyi Local Government Area, said the movement’s lawyers have been contacted on the issue.

Mocha who is also Anambra North Zonal Leader of MASSOB said that MASSOB was founded on September 13,1999 by chief Ralph Uwazuruike to press for the realization of the state of Biafra when the Igbo tribe was excluded from the list of members of the security council, instead they  were offered yeye positions in Obasango’s administration.

And that the said struggle for the state of Biafra was intended to be achieved through non-violence Mocha observed that since the inception of MASSOB, that all our activities have been carried out in non- violence manner as the organization has not recorded any incident where any one’s death or destruction of property could be traceable to the organization.

But, that irrespective of the non- violence posture of MASSOB, the police has in so many instances visited MASSOB members with untold incidence of violence, including the destruction of its offices at Omor, Ayamelum Local Government Area, carting away of its valuable items, documents etc

MASSOB also recalls that, on Monday 17^th March 2014 at about 2pm that a team of polcemen from Otuocha Division in Anambra East L.G.A and numbering about Eleven stormed its zonal office along Oyeagu- Otuocha road, Umudiani village, Umueri.

That the team broke the windows and doors of the house which gave them easy access to the office.  The police removed seven plastic chairs each valued at one thousand, four hundred naira (N1,400) two GSM Navigator handsets each valued at thirty three thousand naira (N33,000.00), a centre table valued at (N4,500).

The team also removed the Biafra flag in front of the office, arrested three members including Mr. Chidi Igweoba, Mike Ezeh and Uchenna Okeke.

That on Tuesday 18^th March, 2014 in the evening, the police also repeated their regular invasion when a passer-by Mr. Okechukwu Udeogu was arrested and forced to climb a tree in other to remove the Biafra flag at gun point.

But when Okechukwu could not climb the tall tree, he fell down and became unconscious until the DPO ordered his men to put him in a waiting HILUX van and was taken to undisclosed hospital for treatment.

Mocha recalls that the 3 arrested members have been released on payment of ten, twelve and thirteen thousand five hundred naira (N10,000, N12,000, N13,500, but Okechukwu is yet to return even as his health situation is still uncertain.