Police arrest 10 suspected MASSOB members in Asaba

By Adesina Oluwadere

August 12, 2013

The police said the suspects were involved in criminal acts.

The Police in Delta on Monday said it arrested 10 suspected members of the Movement for the Actualisation of the Sovereign State of Biafra (MASSOB) in Asaba.

The Police Public Relations Officer, Lucky Uyabeme, announced this at a news conference in Asaba.

He said the suspects were arrested on August 6 at about 4 p.m. when they were allegedly attacking the vigilantes at Power line and Ominigboma areas of Asaba.

“Consequent upon the information, a team of operatives moved in and arrested the suspects,” he said.

He added that the leader of the group, 52-year-old Emeka Okafor, a native of Nkanu in Enugu, was arrested with five other suspects on August 7.

“Items recovered from them include 114 Biafran flags, two boots, 129 Biafran pounds 10 shillings, 32 membership forms and other documents, and 10 pairs of complete Biafran police uniform with tags.

“Others are three cutlasses, seven hard cover note books of their minutes of meetings from 2010 till date, two military belts and one expended cartridge”, he said.

He said investigations were in progress, adding that the suspects would soon be charged to court.

Mr. Uyabeme also said that no fewer than 64 cultists had renounced their membership in Ughelli North Local Government Area of the state.

He appealed to others in such groups to borrow a leaf from their members who have denounced their membership and embrace more productive ways of living.

He warned that the command would not allow any part of the state to be used as a breeding ground for any criminal activity.

“The actions of the suspected MASSOB members are treasonable and government will not condone such lawlessness.

“The command will not relent in its efforts at ensuring that all cultists and other criminal elements in the state are traced and brought to book’’, Mr. Uyabeme said.

During an interview, Mr. Okafor said they had more than 3,000 members. He said they were not remorseful of their actions and vowed to die fighting the course they believed in.

According to him, he is the Administrator of the Anioma Region in Delta.

(NAN)