The Nigerian Army has announced the arrest of a notorious commander of the Indigenous People of Biafra (IPOB) and its armed wing, the Eastern Security Network (ESN), identified as Ifeanyi Eze Okorienta, popularly known as Gentle de Yahoo.
Okorienta was captured by troops of the 34 Artillery Brigade in a joint operation with sister security agencies at his hideout in Aku-Ihube, Okigwe Local Government Area of Imo State.
According to the military, the operation led to the recovery of a cache of arms and items, including one English pistol, 120 rounds of 7.62mm special ammunition, 25 rounds of 7.62mm NATO, a cartridge, six mobile phones, military and police uniforms, as well as a German flag.
Troops also uncovered a workshop used for dismantling stolen vehicles for resale and destroyed 10 motorcycles found at the scene.
Meanwhile, Indigenous People of Biafra (IPOB), on Tuesday, warned the Department of State Security Service, DSS, to stop lying against it and attributing all crimes to it in a bid to drag its image in the mud.
Sounding the note of warning while reacting to the parade of a suspect, called “Gentle”, arrested by the military who they claimed is an IPOB Commander, IPOB denied the claim of the military stating that the suspect is not her member and had made it clear that he is not a member of IPOB.
Reacting through its spokesperson, Emma Powerful, the movement stated that, “Our great leader, Mazi Nnamdi Kanu, has once again noted with outrage the latest satanic propaganda churned out by the Nigerian security agencies and their rented media collaborators, falsely linking IPOB to yet another case of insecurity.
“It has become the cheapest trick in Nigeria: any time the DSS, the Army, or the Police bungle in their duties, they quickly fabricate a headline — ‘IPOB/ESN commander arrested”.
Today it is kidnapping, tomorrow it will be armed robbery, and by next week they will blame IPOB for floods, for road accidents, or even for their inability to impregnate their wives.
This is not only ridiculous, it is insane.
“Let it be clear: IPOB is a peaceful, lawful self-determination movement recognized across the world.
We are not kidnappers. We are not criminals. We are not terrorists. Our only “crime” is saying NO to slavery, no to colonial injustice, no to the perpetual bondage of our people.
“The so-called “commander’ paraded by the Nigerian Army, one “Gentle” or whatever his name may be, has publicly denied being a member of IPOB.
His videos are everywhere online for all to see. Yet the Nigerian media, in their demonic haste to demonise IPOB and the Igbo people, insist on pasting our noble name on every criminal fabrication.
“Journalists who refuse to lift their pen when unspeakable genocide is visited upon the Igbo race are the first to rush and publish unverified junk handed to them by the mortal enemies of the Igbo and Biafran people — namely the Nigerian Army and DSS.
Such double standards and ethnic prejudice are not journalism; they are complicity in oppression.
“This is the same anti-Igbo prejudice that made it acceptable to kill Igbo people when they come out to vote during elections in Lagos.
It is the same script: demonise IPOB, demonise the Igbo race, disparage Biafra and condition Nigerians to accept injustice against the chosen children of God.
But let it be known — we will not fold our arms. Every defamatory publication against IPOB will be dragged to court. The era of slandering IPOB and getting away with it is over.
“The truth is simple: Nigerian security agencies have failed. Instead of admitting their failure, they cook up lies and push them through corrupt journalists who trade their pens for blood money.
These merchants of falsehood are lower than vermin. You cannot save yourselves with these lies, because history and truth will catch up with you.
“We remind the Nigerian press: journalism is supposed to be a noble calling, not an extension of DSS propaganda.
When you join in staining IPOB with fabricated labels, you are not just injuring IPOB — you are participating in the destruction of truth itself. And God Almighty will not forgive you.
“Let the world know once again: IPOB is not and will never be part of Nigeria’s insecurity.
Our demand for Biafra is rooted in justice, equity, and freedom. No amount of cheap propaganda will change that. Write all your junk until you are blue in the face, IPOB remains unshaken,” it maintained.
.As NAPTIP rescues 8 children allegedly stolen from orphanage in Delta
In another development, Operatives of the National Agency for the Prohibition of Trafficking in Persons (NAPTIP) have rescued eight Children suspected to have been stolen from Kano and a few other States in the Northern part of Nigeria and trafficked to the South–South and Eastern part of the Country by a suspected wanted inter-state child trafficking syndicate.
They were rescued from a popular, privately owned Orphanage operated by one of the Executive members of the umbrella body of the Association of Orphanage operators in Nigeria.
A statement signed by the NAPTIP’s Press Officer, Vincent Adekoye and made available to Champion Newspaper on Tuesday in Abuja, explained that the successful operation was carried out with the support of the Operatives of the Department of State Service (DSS), Anambra State Command.
Also involved were men of the Nigerian Police, Delta State Command, with the technical support of the Kano State Government through the State Ministry of Women Affairs, organized Civil Society Organization in Kano State, as well as cross cross-section of Concerned Parents in the Northern Part of Nigeria.
In 2017, some parents in Kano and other States in the Region raised an alarm on the unwholesome activities of some syndicates who move from one Community to another, luring children mostly between the ages of 2years to 10 years and trafficking them to other parts of the Country.
The investigation revealed that the syndicates operating under the guise of traders typically work in two batches.
While a syndicate normally lives briefly within such a Community, gets used to the children, and later disappears with them, others come in as traders and operate from parks and terminals, where they lure unaccompanied children on their way to school and errands.
The incident climaxed in 2022 as another set of over 25 children were allegedly lured and trafficked out of the region by the same suspected syndicate, thereby prompting a public outcry from stakeholders, including members of the Civil Society Organisation (CSOs) in the Communities within the States.
In a letter dated 15th December, 2022, a Non-Governmental Organisation, Protection Against The Abduction of Missing of Our Children (PATAMOOC), in a petition addressed to the Director General of NAPTIP, titled, “Demand for Justice and Address the Child Abduction in Kano State and Nigeria”, sought the assistance of the Agency in rescuing the abducted children.
The Organisation said, “On behalf of over 200 parents who are the victims of the series of abducted children, past and present, we are writing to seek your support and demand justice following the terrible experience we are facing”.
“We, the parents, are in serious pain. Some of us are already hospitalised, while others passed away due to the shock of the children abducted and the continuous uncertainty and suspense daily waiting for the report whether they will be found dead or alive”, the beleaguered parent lamented.
In response to the above and coupled with a series of interactions with the Kano State Government through the State Ministry of Women Affairs, NAPTIP commenced a discreet investigation to ascertain the actual location of the suspected trafficked children with a view to rescuing them unhurt.
This led to the intelligence-driven operations in Anambra and Delta States.
While the operation in Awka, Anambra State, was unsuccessful as the syndicate reportedly moved the children away to an unknown location overnight, the operatives moved to Asaba and rescued eight of the suspected trafficked children from one of the popular orphanages located inside Asaba, the Delta State Capital.
Report from the operation indicated that while over 70 Children were discovered inside the Orphanage with about 15 newborn babies, only eight children were identified as allegedly stolen from Kano State, and they were subsequently rescued.
Speaking on the development, the Director General of NAPTIP, Binta Adamu Bello, OON, decried the activities of some Orphanages in the Country, saying that a good number of them have become a haven for stolen children.
The Director General said, “The operation in question was carried out with precision, and it was purely intelligence-driven with the involvement of our good partners, which included operatives of the DSS, Police, and other members of the intelligence Community.
It was a fallout of the persistent outcry of some distressed parents in Kano and other States within the Region alleging the abduction of their Children.
“The rescued children were identified through their pictures and other features by the representative of the concerned parents from Kano State, out of the over 70 children found inside the Orphanage, including neonates.
“NAPTIP is seriously worried over the unwholesome activities of these so–called orphanages and Care Homes.
Imagine over 70 children inside an orphanage, and the number keeps increasing daily.
The big question is, where are these children from?
“The owner of the Home has been running from pillar to post on the matter, writing to various organs of government, and we have made it clear to him that he should go to our Kano Zonal Command and submit himself for investigation.
Rather than doing the right thing, he is busy using social media to propagate absolute falsehood against the Agency.
“On the day of the operation, our Operatives met the wife of the Owner of the Orphanage there.
She was not arrested because she was not our target. She was informed of the allegation, and the necessary contact was left behind so that the Owner can reach us.
“Those children were rescued and taken to the necessary arm of the Government in Kano State.
They have been duly identified and reunited with their families. So, the raw falsehood based on religious labelling being sold to the public through social media by this unpatriotic individual is regrettable, and it will not distract us from carrying out our mandate.
“I wish to use this medium to call on State Ministries of Women Affairs across the Country to beam searchlights on the activities of these Orphanages and Care Homes that are increasing in numbers.
We shall continue to carry out our oversight function on them in line with the provisions of the Trafficking in Persons (Control of Activities of Organisations and Centres) Regulations 2019”.
While we commend the DSS, the Nigeria Police and other partners for their support and collaboration on this operation, we wish to reiterate that the operation in question underscores our commitment to combat the sale and trafficking of persons, protect vulnerable children, and ensure justice is served in accordance with the law”, the Director General of NAPTIP, Binta Adamu Bello, stated.
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