IPOB, police clash in Anambra over rally

Members of the Independent People of Biafra (IPOB) yesterday clashed with the police in Ekwulobia, Aguata Local Council of Anambra State.The incident followed an earlier plan by the leader of IPOB, Nnamdi Kanu, to hold a rally at Ekwulobia as part of his campaign to stop Anambra State gubernatorial election fixed for November 18, 2017.

Kanu was said to have held such rally in Abakaliki in Ebonyi State and Onitsha in Anambra State even against opposition from the police.The Guardian gathered that police had objected to the IPOB rally and had therefore refused to grant any official permit for it or to provide security at the venue.

An attempt to disperse the crowd, which gathered as early as 8:00am, was said to have been rebuffed, thereby forcing the police to teargas the area.There were, however, conflicting reports of resultant effect of the teargas.

A source said that one person died in the stampede while another stated that no death was recorded.Meanwhile, the Police Public Relations Officer (PPRO) for Anambra State, Nkiru Nwude, said there was no death in Ekwulobia.She said: “People are just telling stories. Nobody died.”

However, in a statement yesterday, the Media and Publicity Secretary, Emma Powerful, alleged that the order to shoot at innocent Biafrans in Ekwulobia), came from the authorities in Abuja, arguing that there is no justification for the barbaric savagery frequently exhibited by the army and police in Nigeria against citizens.

Chukwu said the police had deployed personnel of the Explosives Ordinance Department (EOD) to sanitise the affected area.Konduga Local Council headquarters, 40 kilometres from the state capital, had been attacked by Boko Haram insurgents for over two dozen times to infiltrate Maiduguri metropolis.