Rivers IPOB Camp Raided By Police, And Members Detained

…catch phoney Joint Taskforce members and retrieve weapons

Ten alleged members of the defunct Indigenous People of Biafra and seven fictitious Joint Taskforce members have been detained, according to the Rivers State Police Command, in various parts of the state.

This information was provided to reporters in Port Harcourt on Friday during a briefing by the state’s commissioner of police, Okon Effiong.

According to Effiong, the arrests were made after the command acted on reliable intelligence and officers stormed the suspects’ hiding places.

He said the suspected IPOB members were arrested in Oyigbo in the outskirts of Port Harcourt, while the arms bearing fake civilian JTF members were nabbed in Omoku and Ahoada, both in Rivers State.

The CP said, “On the December 23, 2022, we received information that some IPOB members have started relocating to Rivers State.

CP Effiong disclosed the fake civilian JTF had gone to the North-East for training in arms handling and had come to Rivers to recruit members when they were arrested.

He said, “We just have to be very careful and sensitive. Information was received that a group of persons were training in arms handling.

“And we discovered that the people had gone for  the so called training from the North-East and had come down to Port Harcourt to recruit people. And they said they were civilian JTF .

“When their camp was searched eventually about four locally made AK 47 rifles were recovered with some ammunition.

“The intriguing thing is that we recovered many camouflage uniforms. If anybody saw them they will think they are policemen.

“In the course of our investigation, we discovered that they had already opened up cells in Ahoada and Omoku.

“We have gone to Omoku, we have raided those cells and we have arrested seven of them.”

While assuring that the command would ensure that the state remains unsafe for criminal elements, Effiong solicited the support of members of the public to assist the police with relevant information that would aid arrest of suspects.

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