Tony John, Port Harcourt
Governor Nyesom Wike of Rivers State has described the allegation that he ordered the army to kill the Igbo in Oyigbo Local Government Area of the state, saying it is a politically-motivated falsehood.
Wike maintained that curfew was imposed in Oyigbo to restore calm after members of the proscribed Indigenous Peoples Organisations of Biafra (IPOB) killed six soldiers, four policemen and destroyed police stations and court buildings there. He gave the explanation on a live television programme in Port Harcourt, yesterday.
He said the narrative that Igbo were being killed by the military was intended to shift attention from the despicable activities of IPOB in Oyigbo, which is a boundary area adjoining Abia State.
“I know that this is not the first time, IPOB has used Oyigbo as a launching ground. The security agencies are aware. IPOB added a new dimension this time. They killed six army officers and burnt one. They killed four police officers. They destroyed all the police stations and court buildings. What offence did we commit as a state?
“I imposed curfew to restore calm. I proscribed IPOB activities anywhere in the state. Don’t forget that the Federal Government had declared them a terrorist group. It is not the entire Igbo that believe in IPOB activities.
“So, it is not true that I ordered the military to kill Igbo in Oyigbo. When did I become a friend to the military? So, what about the Igbo living elsewhere in the state? Are they also being killed?
“I have no relationship with the army or the police; I do not command them. They change commissioner of police every time. How will I begin to direct the army that I do not give instruction”?
The governor bemoaned IPOB’s effrontery to rename a local government in the state and hoist its flag in a public school in Komkom town.
“I will not fold my arms and watch criminals destroy my state. If those few criminals are Igbo, then they should know that I would not allow them.
“They made attempt to rename a local government in my state. That alone is a signal. I will not agree to that. I know who is doing all these; who has told them to rise, protest against Wike,” he maintained.
He revealed that security agencies during their search of some residents in Oyigbo, saw shrines with IPOB flags and Nnamdi Kanu’s picture. He maintained that if IPOB is allowed to operate from Oyigbo, they would soon overrun the state.
The governor said the government had commenced moves to replace all the property destroyed by the group during the protest, regretting that the damage has left a huge financial burden on the state. He also said the state had decided to compensate each family of the killed security personnel with N20 million to cater for the welfare of the bereaved widows and their children.
He further said that the #EndSARS protest and its aftermath would have been averted, if the federal government had not dismissed the alarm he earlier raised on the activities of SARS to mere politics.