The police in Ebonyi State, South-east Nigeria, have contradicted a report by the Nigerian army that a suspected member of the Indigenous People of Biafra (IPOB) was killed during a joint operation.
The Nigeria army, in a statement on Thursday, said its troops and personnel of other security agencies killed the suspected IPOB member during a raid on a camp belonging to the separatist group.
The army added that personnel of the Nigeria Police Force, State Security Service, and Nigerian Security and Civil Defence Corps took part in the operation under the Joint Task Force South-east Operation Udo Ka.
It said the operation was conducted in Mgbalukwu, Inyimagu, a community in the Izzi Local Government Area of Ebonyi State.
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Police contradict army
But in a separate statement on Friday, the police spokesperson in Ebonyi State, Joshua Ukandu, said three IPOB members, not one, were killed during the operation.
“The hoodlums on sighting the operatives, opened fire on them, in the ensuing gun duel, three members of the proscribed group were neutralised, five were arrested while others escaped,” Mr Ukandu, a deputy superintendent of police, said.
More contradictions
Unlike the police, the army did not mention that five suspects were arrested during the operation.
Also, while the army said the operation was conducted in Mgbalukwu, Inyimagu, a community in the Izzi Local Government Area of the state, the police claimed the operation took place in Omini Community in the same council area.
Again, the police said undisclosed number of Sienna vehicles, one AK-47 rifle with 16 rounds of live ammunition, a bag containing 2000 rounds of live ammunition, a police warrant card, an identity card with a picture of Nnamdi Kanu, a portrait of an unidentified person, one Itel phone and a motorcycle were recovered from the hoodlums during the operation.
But the army said only one AK-47 rifle, two AK-47 magazines, 54 rounds of 7.62mm special ammunition, and three stolen Sienna buses were recovered from the hoodlums during the operation.
Authorities speak
When confronted with the conflicting statements, an official of the Nigerian army insisted that only one suspected IPOB member was killed during the operation.
“I can authoritatively tell you that we neutralised just one (suspected IPOB member),” the official, who asked not to be named, told this newspaper Saturday morning.
When reminded that the police equally said they arrested five suspects during the operation, the army official said the police might have carried out another operation different from the joint operation.
He subsequently referred this reporter to police authorities in Ebonyi State for clarification, saying the police could be exaggerating the success recorded in the operation.
Contacted, the police spokesperson in Ebonyi State, Mr Ukandu, told PREMIUM TIMES that there was lack of information coordination regarding the operation.
But the spokesperson confirmed that both the Nigerian army and the police were referring to same operation in their separate statements.
“I know there was some kind of mismatch in the information available and I don’t even know where to hinge it on,” he said.
Mr Ukandu said the statement he issued was based on the information made available to him by police operatives which was approved by the police authorities in the state.
He expressed surprise that the army did not mention that five suspects were arrested during the operation.
On the issue of difference in the identity of the community where the operation took place, the police spokesperson said the difference “could be a case of a community having two names.”
Background
IPOB, a group seeking to carve out a sovereign state of Biafra from South-east and some parts of the South-South of Nigeria, has been linked to some deadly attacks in two regions.
But the separatist group has repeatedly denied any involvement in the attacks.
The Nigerian security agencies – mainly the personnel of Nigerian army and Nigeria Police Force – have been raiding camps belonging to the separatist group.
However, both the separatists and the operatives of the security agencies have died in such operations.
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