Residents of Oru Ahiaria in the Ahiazu Mbaise Local Government Area of Imo State beat to death a suspected supporter of the Indigenous People of Biafra (IPOB), Obinwanne Iwu, on Monday.
The villagers were reportedly infuriated because Iwu and the members of his gang were imposing on them a directive to close their shops and obey the sit-at-home order that had been suspended by IPOB.
Hussani Rabiu, the state Commissioner of Police, the Imo State Police Command, revealed this to journalists in Owerri, the state capital.
The police added that the angry villagers on sighting the security operatives they fled to an unknown destination.
According to the police, “On 20/09/2021 at about 07:45hrs, while residents of Umuagbavo Oru Ahiara in the Ahiazu Mbaise Local Government Area of Imo State came out of their houses for their daily business activities, shops were opened and people were going about their lawful businesses.
“One Obinwanne Iwu ‘m’ aged 34 years, a native Ahiara in Ahiazu Mbaise LGA of Imo State, an escapee of the Imo Correctional Centre Owerri and a member of the proscribed IPOB and Eastern Security Network terror group, came to the market with members of his gang attacking, looting opened shops and forcing people to lock up their shops and preventing them from doing their legitimate businesses.
“Shouting at the top of their voices, “Today is Monday and everybody must obey the sit at home order.” This did not go down well with the people who resisted it in its entirety.
“In the pandemonium that ensured, angry mobs in their numbers held the leader of the gang, one Obinwanne Iwu tied his hands behind, while others fled the scene. In the process, he was mercilessly beaten to death, before the police patrol team arrived at the scene. Efforts made by the police patrol team to arrest the perpetrators proved abortive as they all fled the scene on sighting the patrol team.”
However, the Commissioner of Police condemned “the barbaric act and advised members of the public to always hand over suspects to the police for proper investigation and prosecution.”
