SAN FRANCISCO, September 10, (THEWILL) – One person was injured on Sunday evening when soldiers reportedly opened fire on supporters of the leader of the Indigenous Peoples of Biafra (IPOB), Nnamdi Kanu at his Afraukwu Umuahia country home, Abia state.
Narrating the incident to journalists, Kanu’s lawyer, Ifeanyi Ejiofor, said the soldiers stormed the IPOB leader’s home in an armoured tank and about three Hilux vans loaded with heavily armed soldiers.
He claimed that the soldiers shot sporadically as they approached his father’s compound, causing panic and among residents of the area.
Ejiofor said the soldiers wanted to gain entry into his father’s compound but that IPOB members quickly formed a human shield around the compound and stoutly resisted them accussing the Buhari administration of attempting to take his client’s life.
“Just to alert the world that the Nigeria military personnel under the command of Chief of Army Staff is presently laying a siege on my client (Nnamdi Kanu) country home in umuahia,” he said.
“They had continued to shot sporadically into the air through which assault, about five of his family members were brutally wounded and some unfortunately killed.
“There is no doubt that the present deployment of troops to the South East is to haunt for my client and possibly eliminate him.
“Let the whole world know that if anything untoward happen to my client, that President Buhari and his Chief of Army Staff should be held responsible by the international Community.
”We are presently counting the number of casualties as the onslaught progress. The world should be immediately notified about the tension in Biafra land, created by the government in power.
“We must adopt all know legal mechanism to resist the unconstitutional but violent approach in dealing with unarmed people merely operating within the confines of law. Buhari must be held responsible.
“We are ready to present our case once more before the International Court of Justice. The families that lost their beloved ones in the last year may 29th violent attack by the military are yet to recover from the shock of losing their love ones. This situation must be arrested in time.”
However, the Nigerian Army, countering the account by Ejiofor, said its personnel fired warning shots to disperse hoodlums who lobbed stones and broken bottles against them during a procession in Umuahia, the Abia State capital.
“The attention of 14 Brigade Nigerian Army has been drawn to fictitious news going round especially on the social media that troops have invaded the home of Nnamdi Kanu and killed three persons.
“This is far from the truth. Rather, it was a group of suspected IPOB militants that blocked the road against troops of 145 Battalion while on show of force along FMC-Word Bank Road in Umuahia town, Abia State at about 6.00-6.30pm, today.
“They insisted that the military vehicles would not pass and started pelting the soldiers with stones and broken bottles to the point of injuring an innocent female passerby and a soldier, Corporal Kolawole Mathew.
“The troops fired warning shots in the air and the hoodlums dispersed. No life was lost,” the Army said in a statement signed by Oyegoke Gbadamosi, a major and assistant deputy spokesperson of the 14 Brigade.
