Reports have emerged of a military shooting of unarmed protesters at a church in Onitsha as a signal from the Nigerian military obtained by our source, claims that Nigerian security agents are battling with pro-Biafra agitators in part of Anambra state, especially Onitsha. Shots have been fired and many are feared dead. There is no clear reason at the moment for the unrest. The authorities are trying to still the storm Reports according to our source suggests that a military shooting of unarmed protesters at a church in Onitsha has stirred uproar in the state.
There are claims that the Nigerian security agents are battling with pro-Biafra agitators in some parts of Anambra state, especially Onitsha. The signal which was sent to several unit commanders in the Southeastern parts of Nigeria early this morning asked the unit commanders to be on “standby’ in case of a breakdown of law and order as pro-Biafra agitators embark on street protests today in the Southeast.
The signal which was sent to several unit commanders in the Southeastern parts of Nigeria early this morning asked the unit commanders to be on “standby’ in case of a breakdown of law and order as pro-Biafra agitators embark on street protests today in the Southeast.
It has been reported that the army deposited 8 bodies in their barracks according to social media sources while some reported that 20 people have been killed. Some sources reveal that soldiers invaded a Catholic Church in Nkpor, near Onitsha, Anambra state. The invasion was said to have taken place early this morning, May 30, as people were participating in Mass.
The incident comes on this day which happens to be Biafra remembrance day. It was on this day in 1967 that the late General Ojukwu declared the Republic of Biafra, after suffering through years of suppression under Nigeria’s military government. In 1960, Nigeria gained independence from Britain.
Six years later, the Muslim Hausas in northern Nigeria began massacring the Christian Igbos in the region, prompting tens of thousands of Igbos to flee to the east, where their people were the dominant ethnic group. The Igbos doubted that Nigeria’s oppressive military government would allow them to develop, or even survive, so on May 30, 1967, Lieutenant Colonel Odumegwu Ojukwu and other non-Igbo representatives of the area established the Republic of Biafra, comprising several states of Nigeria.
After diplomatic efforts by Nigeria failed to reunite the country, war between Nigeria and Biafra broke out in July 1967. Ojukwu’s forces made some initial advances, but Nigeria’s superior military strength gradually reduced Biafran territory. The state lost its oil fields–its main source of revenue–and without the funds to import food, an estimated one million of its civilians died as a result of severe malnutrition. On January 11, 1970, Nigerian forces captured the provincial capital of Owerri, one of the last Biafran strongholds, and Ojukwu was forced to flee to the Ivory Coast. Four days later, Biafra surrendered to Nigeria.
Source
Sahara Reporters
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