The Department of State Services (DSS) on Saturday accused members of the Indigenous Peoples of Biafra (IPOB) of abducting and killing five Hausa-Fulani residents in Isuikwuato Local Government Area of Abia State.
A statement by the secret police spokesperson, Tony Opuiyo, named four of the victims as Mohammed Gainako, Ibrahim Mohammed, Idris Yakubu, and Isa Mohammed Rago.
“The abducted men were later discovered at the Umuanyi forest, Abia State, where they were suspected to have been killed by their abductors and buried in shallow graves, amidst fifty (50) other shallow graves of unidentified persons. Arrest and investigation conducted so far, revealed that elements within the IPOB carried out this dastardly action.
“It is pertinent therefore to alert the general public that IPOB is gradually showing its true divisive colour and objectives, while steadily embarking on gruesome actions in a bid to ignite ethnic terrorism and mistrust amongst non-indigenes in the South-East region and other parts of the country. Following this act, tension is currently rife among communal stakeholders in the state with possibilities of spill over to other parts of country.
“Against the foregoing, the service will not hesitate to act decisively within its statutory mandate to ensure that the sponsors and perpetrators of this action are apprehended and prosecuted for their crime. Accordingly, law-abiding citizens are enjoined to go about their civil duties and businesses freely, as efforts are being intensified by security agencies to maintain law and order in the state and across the federation,” the statement said.
IPOB leader, Nnamdi Kanu, is currently standing trial for treason before Justice James Tsoho of a Federal High Court sitting in Abuja.
