Almost four years after the arrest of their husbands by security agents over their allged membership of proscribed Indigenous People of Biafra, IPOB two women have narrated their ordeal since the incident.
Chidiebere Luke Echefu, 47-year-old father of five from Umugwano Umuchekekwe in Onuimo LGA of Imo state, was abducted by security agents from his residence in Owerri Imo state on 7 November 2021 at about 3:00am, over alleged membership of IPOB. Since his abduction, he has not been seen.
Rose Echefu, a 41-year-old schoolteacher who witnessed his “abduction”, by the security agents recounted the event to Amnesty International in their verified social media handle explained that the incident was horrifying.
“My husband, Chidiebere Luke Echefu, was abducted from our residence in Owerri on 7 November 2021 at about 3:00am. About six men in uniform broke our flat door and entered our house. When my husband came out, the first thing they asked him is: “Where is your phone!?” My children were all panicky, so I left our room and went to their room to calm them down. They got the phone and started interrogating him. I said to them: “Sir, you have not even identified yourselves. Who are you? Why are you in our house?” They handcuffed him and whisked him away.
“We went to all the police stations in Owerri to search for him. They said he was not in their custody. We also went to the DSS office at Owerri, but they denied having him in their custody. On 2 January 2022, I received a call from a lawyer who told me he saw my husband at the DSS headquarters in Abuja. When we went there, the DSS denied having him in their custody. Nobody saw him. Nobody knows his whereabouts.”
“I was four months pregnant when he was abducted. The child is a year and four months now, but my husband has not seen the child, and they have not allowed any member of the family to have access to him.”
In the vein, Ikechukwu Henry from Orlu in Imo state was “abducted” on 23 August 2021 from his residence at Garki Enugu at 2:00 am, by security agents over alleged membership of IPOB.
His 27-year-old wife, Chioma a mother of one, narrated the harrowing experience to Amnesty International describing it as most terrifying.
“They [the abductors] were in military uniform, 10 to 15 men. They invaded our compound at about 2:00am. They started knocking on our door. I was not aware of those who were knocking. I usually wake up in the middle of the night to breastfeed my three-month-old baby. So, when I woke up, I was scared because of the knocks on the door. When I opened the door, I saw men in uniform. They had surrounded our house.
“They dragged me out and asked: “Where is Henry?”
Narrating further, Mrs Ikechukwu said that “before I could reply to them, they forced me out of the door and entered our house, searching for my husband. He was asleep. They dragged my husband outside and were slapping him. I shouted in shock. They told me that if I shout again, they will beat me. They asked me to put on my clothes that I will be going to the station with them. I asked them what we did. They say I will find out when I get to the station.”
“They beat my husband so badly. They searched our house. They could not find anything. Then, they dragged us outside, my husband and I with my little baby. I did not have any clothing to cover the baby. I covered her with our bed sheet. We entered their Hilux vehicle. They drove off to Nigerian Army 82 Division Enugu.
“When we got to 82 Division, it was about 4am. We stayed in the guard room till they were able to open the main building in the morning. Then they took us inside the main building and started interrogating us. They were asking me about my husband and his occupation. I told them that my husband is a caterer; he cooks for people during ceremonies.”
“On the third day after his abduction, when I went to visit him, they told me that I should not come back to visit him, that he was no longer there as they had transferred him to Abuja. Then I asked them which place in Abuja they refused to tell me. Since 23 August 2021, when my husband was abducted, I have not seen him. We have been searching for him everywhere.”
WITHIN NIGERIA findings showed that Indigenous People of Biafra, IPOB has been active in the Southeast zone for some years even with the proscription of the group by the Federal government on August 20, 2017.
Investigations revealed that the activities of the group have led to violence and high level of insecurity in the zone even as Monday sit-at-home is being observed in the zone.
