Breaking: 38 corpses of IPOB members discovered in Abia forest
. IPOB accuses security operatives of responsibility
. Calls for UN probe
. It isn’t true – Army
By Steve Oko, Umuahia
The Indigenous Peoples of Biafra ( IPOB) says it has discovered no fewer than 38 decomposed corpses of its members allegedly killed by security forces and dumped in a forest at Ogwe, Ukwa West Local Government Area of Abia State.
This discovery is coming barely one year after the Operation Python Dance ll ( Egwu Eke) launched by the Army in South East geopolitical zone .
The whereabouts of IPOB Leader, Mazi Nnamdi Kanu has remained a subject of controversy since after the operation following the military raid of his Afaraukwu Umuahia country home on September 14, 2017.
His parents HRM Eze Israel Kanu, and Lolo Sally Kanu, are also yet to be accounted for or sighted in public since after the raid.
The Army has however, continued to deny any involvement in the raid.
A press statement issued Tuesday by IPOB said the corpses were victims of the military operation which was greeted by public outcry and condemnation as many especially people from the zone described it as ” infamous and punitive”.
The statement signed by its Media and Publicity Secretary, Emma Powerful, said the corpses were discovered by members of IPOB intelligence unit who have been scouting for missing members of the pro- Biafra group after the operation.
A closer watch at some of the gory pictures of the decomposed corpses shows skeletons and clothes of the victims covered amidst grass in the bush.
The pictures, however, could not be independently verified by WaWa News Global due to the risky nature of the terrain/ scene of the discovery.
IPOB further claimed that security forces had cordoned off the area, thus making further search efforts around the vicinity for possible discoveries a risky adventure.
It also said the presence of security operatives around the area was to possibly destroy evidence.
IPOB, therefore, called on the United Nations to quickly probe the disturbing discovery with a view to bringing all those behind it to justice.
But when contacted, the Army Public Relations Officer, 14 Brigade Ohafia, Major Gbadamosi, simply dismissed the claims by IPOB as untrue.
His words: ” It is not true my brother. We don’t know anything about it. Come to think of it, how can they be making claims of that since last year? Do not mind them. It is a cooked up story. It is not true.”
The Army Spokesman urged members of the pubkic to disregard the claims.
The statement read in part: “We the global family of the Indigenous People of Biafra (IPOB) commend our intelligence unit over the horrific discovery of yet more dead bodies of slain Biafrans in the village of Ogwe in Ukwa district of Abia State.
“This gruesome finding will once again drive home the horrors of Operation Python Dance and why all those that participated in its instigation and execution such as Ohaneze Ndigbo, South East governors and selected Igbo elders and politicians must not go unpunished.
“If anything, this cold blooded execution and unceremonious dumping of bodies in the forest by soldiers in Ukwa is ample justification for the recent decision of IPOB to disengage from any further talks with Ohaneze Ndigbo and South East governors until all issues surrounding the genocidal Operation Python Dance is cleared up.
“Had these number of murder victims been discovered in any Muslim country, region or part of the world, the International Criminal Court (ICC), United Nations, Britain, USA and world media will be up in arms demanding explanation and holding the perpetrators accountable.
“Because these events are happening to Biafrans in Nigeria; where an Islamic government, along with her security operatives staffed by Fulani officers are aiding and protecting Hausa Fulani herdsmen and their kinsmen in the army from the consequences of the worst form of ethnically motivated genocide presently in Africa, the world remains deaf to the cries of IPOB.
“The site of these decomposed bodies should be designated as an international crime scene and promptly investigated.
“Should the United Nations, ICC, USA and European Union fail to act on this gruesome discovery of mass grave of Biafrans in Ukwa Ngwa Abia State, we would conclude that there exists a credible bias and conspiracy to exterminate and Islamise Biafra by the pro-Islamic international community.
“As we draw near to the anniversary of the murderous invasion of Afaraukwu on the 14th of September 2017, we once again call on Igbo governors, the global Christian community, Amnesty International, Human Rights Watch and other reputable and relevant human rights organisations around the world, to prevail upon the International Criminal Court, the Nigeria Government and her security operatives to release the remaining dead bodies of Biafrans in their custody since last year.
” An international panel of enquiry must constituted as a matter of urgency to investigate the atrocities of this Buhari regime against innocent populations in Nigeria and Biafra in particular.”
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