Police Arrest Catholic Priest, Others Over Alleged Involvement With MASSOB/IPOB

A Catholic priest named Fr. Samuel Aniebonem has been detained by the Anambra State Police command on the grounds that they are members of the Movement for the Actualization of the Sovereign State of Biafra (MASSOB), a separatist organization, and five other people were arrested.

MASSOB director of information, Mazi Chris Mocha said Fr. Aniebonem and the others were arrested by the anti-kidnapping unit of the Nigeria Police Force, Awkuzu, Oyi Local Government Area, which used to serve as the Anambra State headquarters of the banned Special Anti-Robbery Squad, SARS.

Aniebonem, an employee at St. Patrick’s Cathedral Church in Awka, is from the town of Ifitedunu, where three people were detained last week when the police searched a MASSOB office nearby.

According to reports, the trouble for the cleric started when he went to the State Criminal Investigation Department to ask about his 87-year-old in-law, Chief Sylvester Dinyelu, who was one of those detained earlier, for information regarding his release.

According to Mocha, the police detained the priest on the assumption that he, too, might be a member of the movement, rather than informing him of Dinyelu’s arrest’s justifications.

people detained alongside Fr. His driver Udebunu Anachuna, as well as Christian Ifeji, Johnson Anagor, and Kanayo Madu, were all aniebonam.

On Tuesday of last week, Mathew Ani was detained on suspicion of being a member of the Indigenous People of Biafra (IPOB), according to Mocha, who claimed that a similar incident took place there.

He demanded an end to the frequent police detentions, claiming that such practices violated the principles of citizens’ freedom of association and movement as outlined in the amended constitution of Nigeria.

He claimed that the group has hired a lawyer to ensure the early release of the men, including the 87-year-old.

According to Mr.dot Tochukwu Ikenga, the state police public relations officer, who confirmed the arrest and detention, police agents raided the suspects’ office on the Oyeagu-Ifitedunu road based on credible information.

He claimed that numerous unpatriotic materials and incriminating artifacts demonstrating the movement’s disloyalty to the Federal government were discovered there.

He continued, “For the time being, the case is still being investigated.”

The Reverend Father’s arrest on the false claim that he is a member of MASSOB was described as surprising by human rights activist Nze Dekey, who questioned the arrest’s purpose.