The Governor of Ebonyi State, Dave Umahi, on Thursday said some criminals are using the Indigenous People of Biafra and Eastern Security Network’s name to commit crime in the South-East.
Umahi stated this while speaking on Channels TV, on Thursday.
IPOB and ESN has been blamed recent attacks on prisons and police stations in the south-east.
The group, however, denied attacking the police facilities.
Umahi in his statement said some criminals not affiliated with IPOB are using the group’s name to commit crime in the south-east.
“The truth of what is happening is that there are bandits everywhere; there are cultists everywhere. What happens now in south-east is that criminals who may not necessarily be members of IPOB and ESN, will go and commit crimes and they need a name. So it’s safer for them to say they are members of ESN, and IPOB so that the persecution of IPOB and ESN by the federal government will cover them,” he said.
“That is what is happening in south-east because IPOB and ESN have a number of times come out to say they are not into terrorism and violence, and the people burning police stations and killing are not their members. And so how do you reconcile the two?”
In a related development, the Governor of Kaduna State, Nasir El-Rufai, on Wednesday said the only way to end Banditry in Nigeria is for the military to kill them.
He called on the military to invade forests where bandits stay and bomb the whole place