'IPOB leader not in our custody' - Military

dimeji akinloye

September 30, 2017 6:41 PM

IPOB had alleged that Kanu may have been killed by the military on Federal Government's orders.

The Defence Headquarters has maintained that it neither raided the residence of the leader of the Indigenous People of Biafra,

This follows repeated claims by the IPOB that soldiers who allegedly raided Kanu's house kidnapped him.

The group has also alleged that its leader may have been killed by the military on Federal Government's orders.

But speaking at a briefing with journalists on Friday, September 30, the Director, Defence Information, Maj. Gen. John Enenche, maintained that the military did not raid Kanu's residence.

"Kanu is not in the custody of the military. It is not the responsibility of the DHQ to declare him wanted", he said,

"If the court says that if he does not show up for hearing, it will hold the military responsible, (then) let us wait till that time.

"The military never raided Kanu’s house. I watched the whole operation live on that day. Even I don’t have any right to stop you while passing on a public route. I saw that the Biafran Security Service and the Biafran National Guards mounted roadblocks, and the soldiers came out peacefully and said, 'Boys, let us pass'. But the Biafrans attempted to collect their guns. Nobody went to Kanu's house or raided him or took him away."

The defence spokesperson also denied the military's involvement in the proscription of IPOB.

Enenche said, "The statement of the DHQ on IPOB’s activities is not opposed to what the army chief came out to say. Did we say IPOB was proscribed? No. But some people had a mindset and were in a hurry to attack the military.

"The military did not proscribe IPOB; due process was followed before the proscription. What the military did was to diagnose the security elements and warn of consequences. The military also knows the law."

According to him, the military deployment in states all over the country was to complement the efforts of other security agencies.

"The armed forces of Nigeria are not alarmed by the fear which some expressed that troops are deployed all over the country. The military see and analyse differently, while people see and analyse differently.

"It is the military that can tell you the signs and symptoms of a security element. Other countries passed through what we are passing through before they got to their present developed state.

"For days before Operation Python Dance II started, there were fears, not caused by the military, but by the propaganda of some persons," he added.

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Kanu's whereabouts is currently believed to be unknown to the IPOB and his family while the Federal Government has been silent about his alleged arrest or murder allegations against it.

dimeji akinloye