Police arrest 68 MASSOB members over Biafra Day procession

The Imo State Police Command yesterday arrested 68 members of the Movement for the Actualisation of the Sovereign State of Biafra (MASSOB) for unlawful procession.

This disclosure was made by the state’s Commissioner of Police, Austin Evbakhavbokun, while briefing newsmen in his office.

He stressed that 62 of those arrested had been charged to court for conspiracy, belonging to unlawful society and engaging in conduct likely to cause breach of peace in the state. Evbakhavbokun explained that the self-styled freedom fighters had stormed Owerri, the state capital, in buses from all directions to celebrate Biafra Day and remembrance of their heroes without previous notice to the police authority.


“They were clad in MASSOB/Biafra uniforms with insignia such as “Biafra/MASSOB flags, and marched towards the Port Harcourt/Owerri Federal highways, chanting war songs in such a tumultuous manner as to cause breach of the peace. They were later dispersed by the state Police Command,” he said.

The commissioner of police, who listed exhibits recovered from the suspects as Biafra uniforms, Biafra ID cards, Biafra flags and some buses, regretted that most of those involved in the act never knew when and how the civil war was fought in the country.

He advised parents and guardians to always keep a tab on the activities of their children and wards to discourage them from acts and conducts capable of jeopardizing peace and security of the society.

“We have just one country called Nigeria and as such cannot have two flags for the same country and those arrested would be made to face the full weight of the law to serve as a deterrence to others, because the law says that any procession without police approval is illegal,” he said.

He said it is the responsibility of the citizenry to ensure the continued corporate existence of the country, adding that such movement as MASSOB should not be tolerated by any well meaning citizen.