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Ahead tomorrow
Ahead tomorrow’s action : Securitymen
trail MASSOB activists
ALPHONSUS
NWEZE, Onitsha and VINCENT ANOLU, Owerri
AHEAD
tomorrow’s stay-at-home order called by the Movement for the Actualisation of
the Sovereign State of Biafra (MASSOB), the organisers have hyped up
"expectations", saying that foreign observers were already in the
country for the event.
But, MASSOB has called on the
international community to bring pressure to bear on Nigerian security
organisations against harassment and intimidation of the agitators.
An August 22, 2004 document by
the group, signed by its assistant director of information Mr. Chris Mocha,
pleaded with human rights groups worldwide to rescue MASSOB following what it
tagged "unwarranted arrests and detention without trial of our
members."
In the document, marked MBLF/ASDXX/Okwe/0020,
and originating from the group’s "provincial headquarters" in Owerri,
Okwe, Onuimo local government area of Imo State, claimed that its security
network had established massive police offensive against tomorrow’s action.
It claimed that the police Mobile
Forced (MOPOL), directed by police zone 9 headquarters in Umuahia, Abia State,
had allegedly imported (for use against MASSOB activists) large quantities of
chemical teargas from Saudi Arabia, ahead of the action.
That, the group further alleged,
is besides an alleged directive by the Imo State House of Assembly for each of
its members to "arrest and possibly shoot on sight MASSOB/BLF leaders"
in their (lawmakers’) constituencies.
Mr. Mocha, who doubles as
personal assistant to MASSOB leader Chief Ralph Uwazurike, said, however, that
the group would not be intimidated by the security threats.
Only on Monday, the activists
embarked on house-to-house mobilisation for the mass action in Aba, the
commercial nerve-centre of Abia State.
But, yesterday in Onitsha,
Anambra State, the commercial hub of South-East the activists alleged that a man
and his wife were arrested by security agents for alleged possession of a pro-MASSOB
publication.
An official in Onitsha Mr.
Uchenna Madu told Daily Champion that not even the clampdown would
detract from grounds well preparations for the sit-in action (from 6.00 a.m. to
4.00 p.m.) during which "Biafra people" wherever they are, also
expected to switch off their mobile phones.
Uchenna Madu said the
international observers were already in Nigeria for the stay-at-home action and
had met with MASSOB leader Chief Uwazuruike last weekend.
Madu said international observers
will visit major cities in Igboland tomorrow.
He said MASSOB had met with town
union leaders, religious, market and transport unions and Okada riders’
leaders as the course of their mobilisation campaign.
Meanwhile, the police and other
security services in Anambra State may have launched fresh offensives against
MASSOB sympathisers.
A couple and a driver were
yesterday arrested by policemen from Onitsha area command for being in
possession of a pro-MASSOB news magazine.
Mr. Titus Ugwu, newspaper
distributor, his wife and a driver conveying the pro-MASSOB publications New
Republican were arrested in separate areas in Onitsha.
The driver was said to have been
arrested at Upper Iweka while conveying copies of the magazine from Aba, Abia
State to Onitsha in Anambra State.
On close examination the
policemen discovered that the magazines were being ferried to a company
belonging to Ugwu at Old Market Road in the town where they (police) went and
arrested him and his wife and handcuffed them.
The wife was released later but
ugwu and the driver were still being held at press time.
Vice-Chairman of newspaper
distributors Chief Christian Ikpe, who went to secure their release said that
one police said they were circulating "banned publications."
He called on the police to beam
their search light on the publishers of the magazine rather than distributors
and vendors who are doing their legitimate business.
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