Oyigbo burns as Police battles rampaging IPOB members

Hoodlums suspected to be members of the proscribed Indigenous People of Biafra (IPOB) have continued to launch attacks in Oyinbo Local Government Area despite the 24-hour curfew declared in the area by the Rivers State Governor, Nyesom Wike.

It was learnt that people in the area could not sleep on Thursday night and Friday morning as sounds of gunshots rented the air.

The Police Public Relations Officer (PPRO), Nnamdi Omoni, confirmed that members of IPOB were attacking the police and residents in the area.

“They are shooting at us but we will surely win the war”, he said adding that the same hoodlums that burnt the Oyinbo Area Command and the Afam Police stations were still in the communities.

Omoni confirmed that a hospital close to the burnt police station was also set ablaze by the miscreants, who were angry that the health facility refused to admit their injured colleagues.

He said on Wednesday the suspected IPOB members after burning police stations at Oyinbo set ablaze and damaged about 15 vehicles including one Armored Personnel Carrier (APC).

Confirming the killing of policemen, he said: “In the wake of the attack, two Police Officers were killed and some arms and ammunition carted away by the hoodlums.

“In another attack at the Mile one Police Station, the same rampaging IPOB members who operated under the guise of #ENDSARS Protests made frantic attempt at burning the Mile One Police Station and the office of Eagle Crack Squad.

“But they were however repelled by the superior fire power of the Police, as three of them were fatally wounded in the exchange of gunfire, while eight of them were arrested and immediately transferred to State CID where they are currently helping in our investigation.

He said the Commissioner of Police, CP Joseph G. Mukan, had appealed to the people of Rivers State to remain calm and religiously obey the curfew imposed by the State Government.

Omoni said: So far adequate deployments have been made to cover all the flashpoints and ensure that the hoodlums are kept at arm’s length, while appealing to parents and guardians to warn their children to remain law abiding or else the full weight of the law will be brought to bear on them.

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“The #ENDSARS protests and the Consequential Demands are being addressed by both the Federal and State Governments, therefore, any attempt to undermine the security of the State will be resisted. The constitutional duty of the Police to protect lives and property is sacrosanct and must be carried out in a most professional manner.”