Mr Usman Baba, the Inspector-General of Police, branded the agitation for Biafra in the country’s south-eastern region on Wednesday as a cover for criminality.
He warned those behind the agitation that their actions would not be tolerated by the administration.
Baba spoke at the inauguration of an ultra-modern divisional police station, linked to a police barracks for senior police officers, in Amawbia, near Awka, Anambra State.
He pledged that criminals hiding under the appearance of agitation to assault the public would not be spared by the police under his command.
He bemoaned the fact that agitators are committing crimes in the state and in the South East by attacking police officers and other public facilities in the name of a separate state.
“Secessionist views will not be tolerated in this form. There are alternative methods to agitate, and these folks will not intimidate the government. This is criminality, and the Biafra struggle is merely a cloak for criminals,” Baba stated.
While identifying security as everyone’s concern, he urged communities to embrace vigilante operatives, whom he regarded as critical in the fight against crime.
The police chief committed to assist the state commissioner of police in maintaining peace and order in the state.
He also vowed that all lawmakers would have a level playing field ahead of the 2023 elections.
IPOB criticizes IG
Meanwhile, the Indigenous People of Biafra have stated that the agitation in Biafra is not motivated by criminal intent, as asserted by Baba.
The pro-Biafran group accused the Federal Government and security agencies of collaborating with criminal forces to blackmail IPOB because it refuses to give up on the restoration of Biafra.
In an interview with The PUNCH, IPOB’s Media and Publicity Secretary, Emma Powerful, claimed the IG was excessively focused on innocent Biafra agitators, while robbers and terrorists are pampered in the North and even offered amnesty by the Federal Government.
“It demonstrated that the IG has nothing to offer,” he said. While criminals and terrorists roam free in the North, he is busy criticizing innocent Biafrans seeking freedom.
“Without the quota system, someone like Baba should not be sitting on the IG. He has been speaking about innocent Biafrans wanting their liberation since taking office.
“He does not have any task to perform or what to say because without his talking about Biafra agitations, nobody will know that he came to Anambra State. They are simply running like an airplane without a pilot, and IPOB has beaten them without the use of guns or bullets.”
