A police officer who was reportedly captured and tortured by suspected members of the outlawed Indigenous People of Biafra (IPOB) in Imo State, Nigeria’s South-east, is circulating online.
The victim, identified as Gabriel Anyanwu, is from the State Criminal Investigation Department and attached to the Police Public Relations Unit of the State Police Command, Owerri.
A video clip which showed the victim in the captivity of the suspected Biafra agitators has been circulating on various WhatsApp groups.
It was not clear when the incident happened, but there are indications that it is recent.
In the clip, seen by PREMIUM TIMES, the suspected IPOB members were heard in the background threatening to kill the officer for being a member of the Nigeria Police Force, instead of joining IPOB.
One of the unidentified IPOB members told the officer that the separatist group is “the moving train”.
The officer was in pain, with blood gushing out of his body, apparently from gunshot injuries.
He was seated on the floor without a shirt. He wore a pair of sky-blue trousers.
“Since, you have chosen the wrong path to join the rubbish Nigeria Police Force, today will mark your end,” one of the men who was torturing him declared.
“Oh God!” the officer exclaimed.
“Today will mark your end,” the man repeated.
The suspected IPOB member also warned Igbo youths to stop joining the Ebubeagu outfit and the police.
He mocked Nigeria for being called giant of Africa, while electricity supply remains epileptic in the country.
He claimed there had not been power supply in his area for the past 15 years, but did not give the name of the place.
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“My friend, today is your end,” he said, appearing to cock a rifle, while the officer begged him.
The clip did not show whether he was later killed.
The police spokesperson in the state, Michael Abattam, told PREMIUM TIMES that though the police in the state have seen the video clip, they were yet to establish whether the officer was killed or not.
“We have not seen his body. So, we cannot say he was killed,” he said.
Mr Abattam said the Commissioner of Police in the state, Ahmed Barde, has ordered investigation in the incident to track down the culprits.
“And that investigation commenced immediately we got that information,” he said.
Worsening attacks
Security has deteriorated in Nigeria’s South-east, with frequent attacks by armed persons across the region.
The attacks, mostly targeted at security officials and government facilities, have been attributed to the IPOB which is agitating for a sovereign state for the Igbo-speaking people in the South-east.
The IPOB leader, Nnamdi Kanu, is detained in Abuja where he is standing trial for terrorism.
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