Oyigbo residents flee over alleged attacks by soldiers

More residents of Oyigbo, Rivers State have fled the area, following mounting military presence aimed at recovering rifles allegedly carted away by members of the Indigenous People of Biafra.

The spokesman for the 6 Division, Nigerian Army, Port Harcourt, Major Charles Ekeocha, said six of its men lost their lives to the attacks by IPOB members, who then took the slain soldiers’ rifles.

But residents have raised the alarm over the activities of soldiers, accusing them of shooting and indiscriminately arresting youths in the area.

Some of the residents said they had fled to neighbouring communities like Iriebe and Etchez Eleme, which are areas not affected by the curfew imposed by the state government.

The fleeing residents accused the soldiers of forcing themselves into people’s homes, illegally searching homes, and harassment.

A resident who declined to give their name said, “The soldiers asked two youths, a male and female, to lie inside a muddy place. After some time, the soldiers asked them to go and tell their brothers (IPOB) to come.

“They (soldiers) said they were waiting for them (IPOB) and that this was just the beginning. They were later advised to take another route to escape as there were many soldiers on the road who might kill them.”

Another resident said, “If you are a youth, the soldiers will arrest you. They have besieged the Oyigbo roundabout. We need help.”

However, Ekeocha said, “Our operation in Oyigbo is not targeted at innocent people. We are after the miscreants. We lost six of our men to the unrest and their weapons were carted away.

“The weapons that were taken are important. If they are not retrieved, they can be used on residents of that area and Rivers State or any other part of the country. So, we must retrieve those weapons. That is why we are there.”

On the allegations that soldiers were molesting and breaking into peoples’ houses, the army spokesperson said the houses its operatives entered were possible hideouts of the IPOB members.

“The exercise going on there is to identify houses used by these so-called IPOB members because we have information. We are searching those houses to see if we can get those weapons. That is what we are doing and we are professional about it.

“It is not in our character to molest anybody as they are claiming. We are there to protect them; after all, they have been crying out about the activities of IPOB and some other hoodlums,” he said.

Ekeocha advised residents of the area to remain calm and cooperate with the army by giving useful information that would lead to the arrest of fleeing IPOB members and the recovery of weapons of its killed officers.