Following the wanton destruction of public and private properties as a well as loss of lives of security operatives in Rivers state, Governor Nyesom Wike has ordered a massive crackdown on members of the proscribed Indigenous Peoples of Biafra (IPOB), whom he accused of causing the mayhem in the state.
He also ordered the 23 council chairmen and youths in the state to fish out members of the proscribed Indigenous Peoples of Biafra (IPOB) from the state, threatening to sack any council chairman that allows IPOB to hold processions in their domain.
The Governor, who spoke during a meeting with the chairmen, community development committees and youths leaders at the Government House, in Port Harcourt on Monday, described Rivers as the most accommodating state for all Nigerians.
He said while the people of the state believed in the unity of the country, they would not allow criminals under the aegis of a terrorist group called IPOB to continue to threaten the stability of the state.
The Governor wondered why IPOB had the effrontery to hoist its flag in Oyigbo and directed the council chairman to ensure there would not be another occurrence of such treasonous act.
He said: “We can never be against any ethnic group. We can never do that. We have lived in harmony with the Ibos, the Hausas, and with Edo people.
“Everybody that comes to this state we have lived in harmony with. And so Nigerians must commend Rivers State as a place where you have never had a problem between this group and that group”.
The Governor called for vigilance on the part of Rivers people and warned sternly that IPOB members should not delude themselves thinking Rivers could be colonized or annexed by any group under his administration.
He called on the people to defend the territory and ensure no part of the state was annexed by a criminal organization or terrorist organization.