Ralph Uwazuruike, the founder of the Movement for the Actualisation of the Sovereign State of Biafra (MASSOB), has asserted that four of his security guards were kidnapped by the Nigerian military. Uwazuruike claimed that military personnel invaded his hometown in Onuimo Local Government of Imo State and abducted the security guards on Sunday night.

In a statement conveyed by his Director of Information, Chris Mocha, the MASSOB leader stated that the soldiers abducted four of his security details. Uwazuruike appealed to the Commander of 32 Artillery Brigade, Obinze, near Owerri, to ensure the release of his security men.

The statement explained, “Some Nigerian soldiers stormed my Okwe country home and abducted four of my security details guarding MASSOB Freedom House in Onuimo Local Government. No provocation led to the abduction and no explanation was offered by the soldiers.”

Uwazuruike, a Biafra agitator, highlighted that members of BIM-MASSOB had never been implicated or found guilty by security reports due to the peaceful approach in their agitation for Biafra.

Describing the incident, he added, “The soldiers arrived at Freedom House in a Navy blue Sienna car, spotted the MASSOB security men in front of the gate to the MASSOB Freedom House. The five soldiers walked straight to my security men and started flogging them without any explanation or provocation. The soldiers, after beating my members, blindfolded them with clothes and whisked them away to an unknown destination.”

In response, the Army spokesman, Joseph Akubo, asserted that soldiers do not engage in kidnapping but only arrest individuals of questionable character. However, he acknowledged that other sister security agencies, such as Navy and Air Force, sometimes wear army uniforms.