Biafran National Guard, one of the groups agitating for the independence of the South-East region from Nigeria, has said its attack on Abia State Police Command Headquarters on Monday was to capture the state police commissioner, Jane Agbede.
The secessionist group had earlier taken responsibility for the attack launched on Monday on the police headquarters in Umuahia, the capital of Abia State.
SaharaReporters on Monday morning reported that that state police headquarters was attacked.
The newspaper gathered that during the attack, one person suspected to be a police inspector was killed.
A source who lives close to the station had told SaharaReporters that he heard gunshots around 1 am on Monday.
“Around 1 am, we could hear gunshots. Initially, we thought the policemen at the station were the ones shooting because sometimes they shoot to scare potential assailants.
“By daybreak, we heard it was an attack and that a policeman was killed,” the source had said.
But the group, in a statement issued on Tuesday, explained that it attacked the headquarters to capture the state police commissioner, Jane Agbede.
The group said its mission was to capture the police chief to find out the reasons behind police attacks on Biafrans.
According to the group, they had nothing personal against policemen at the station and had expected to run away instead of engaging them, considering that they were heavily armed.
The BNG in the statement signed by its Head of Media, Elemamba Eberechukwu, further reiterated that it had declared war on the Nigerian government and announced October 30, 2021, as the independence day of the region.
The statement reads in part, “We the Biafran National Guard wish you merry Christmas and want to also use this opportunity to urge you to continue to be unbiased in your reports. As you all already know; we redeclared the sovereign state of Biafra on 30th of October 2021, by virtue of that re-declaration, Biafra became a sovereign state and we the Biafran army would like to maintain a cordial relationship with you all.
“Our army will soon officially start exercising our full right as an independent state and wish to continue to enjoy professional relationships with you all as referees and also the eyes of the world. Biafra is a legitimate course and there is no way to freedom; every way leads to freedom, depending on what the oppressors threw at us.
“The occupational government of Muhammadu Buhari threw death at us, force and oppression. We are dying every day and our people experiencing all kinds of suffering. It is our inalienable right to choose to die no more. It is our right to defend our lives and we have fully triggered it.”
It said, “We have no intention to burn down the police headquarters or seize it for the time being. Our plan was to get the commissioner; so he could explain why killing Biafrans became a thing of pride and joy to him.
“We are disappointed that policemen that ought to run away engaged us, despite seeing we were heavily armed. We lost no soldier neither did any of our soldiers sustained injury. We took control of the headquarter briefly and neutralized many of the state-sponsored terrorists firing at us. The commissioner escaped but justice is inevitable.
“Furthermore; we encountered vigilante groups while travelling from Nsukka to Abia state but refused to open fire at them. We appreciate the effort of vigilante groups but it is high time they left the roads and went into our communities. They should guide our communities and leave major roads.
“Because we won’t leave them next time because they work with the occupational government and are a threat to the people’s army. We are warning them to resign or go into our communities alone; we will protect our roads and should they continue their vigilante whatsoever; we will see them as enemy link.
“The people of Biafra should not panic; everybody should remain calm because we are on top of the situation. It is a gradual process; we will protect our people from the terrorists terrorizing them. We have seen enemy soldiers burning down houses, shops and killing innocent Biafrans. We will work harder to protect our people from the occupational soldiers.
“Finally, Biafra is a sovereign state and we will not hesitate to stamp our sovereign authority. First line of that sovereignty is the defense of our lives being taken at will by the occupational forces of the federal government of Nigeria. We will not relent until there is peace and safety of lives in our land.”
