- Biafra agitator Simon Ekpa claimed responsibility for the killing of four policemen in Imo State during a stop-and-search operation
- Ekpa’s Biafra Defence Forces announced the attack on social media, demanding the withdrawal of Nigerian security forces from the Southeast region
Biafra agitator Simon Ekpa has claimed responsibility for the killing of four policemen in Imo State on Monday. The incident occurred when gunmen attacked policemen conducting stop-and-search operations in the Irete community along Onitsha Road in Owerri, the Imo State capital. A Point of Sale (PoS) operator was also reportedly killed in the ambush.
Henry Okoye, the police spokesman in Imo State, confirmed the incident, noting that four policemen were killed, not six as some reports had claimed.
Following the attack, Ekpa took to X, formerly known as Twitter, to announce that his Biafra Defence Forces had carried out the assault. He claimed that the group had recovered weapons from the policemen and referred to Nigerian security personnel as “terrorists.” Ekpa demanded the withdrawal of all Nigerian security forces from the Southeast, stating, “The Biafra Defence Forces Owerri Command has recovered weapons from the terrorists after neutralizing them in numbers. Withdrawal of all the Nigeria terrorists from Biafraland is the demand, and we approach declaration in December.”
He further warned that if force and “terrorism tactics” continued to be used to keep the region in the union, such incidents would persist. A video clip attached to his post showed rifles and police case files displayed by individuals who claimed to have attacked the police, although the faces of the speakers were not revealed.
This attack is the latest in a series of assaults against security agents by non-state actors in Imo State and the Southeast geopolitical zone.
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