Three hoodlums suspected to be IPOB members, arrested in rivers for allegedly bombing Gov Wike father’s church
Mon Nov 30 2020
The Rivers state police department has apprehended three hoodlums for allegedly detonating some devices suspected to be dynamite, at the Christian Universal Church Incorporated, situated @ number 25, Azikiwe Street, mile 3 of Diodu, Port harcourt. The church is reportedly owned by Governor wike’s father who is a pastor. The State police command in reaction to the incident, says the attackers might be members of the proscribed Indigenous People of Biafra(IPOB) who has had a history of contention with the state government for various interests and disagreements According to eye witnesses who spoke to our Correspondent, said about five men all masked, came to the scene strolled into the church like they were worshippers before embarking on their attack. One of the eye witnesses said, “ He explained, “We were all outside because people don’t sleep early in Azikiwe. Even by 2am, you will still see people moving about here peacefully and enjoying themselves, because there are some hangouts here. “I saw the boys; they were three when they went inside the church, but we didn’t suspect anything. The next thing we heard was a loud sound and people started running.” Another eye witness, said “In the ensuing melee, some of the vigilante members sustained injuries and were taken to hospital for treatment, while the attackers, including those arrested, also suffered injuries” “I was inside when I heard the deafening sound. It shook our building and we were all afraid. We didn’t come out till later when we heard that some persons had been arrested,” a woman said. —When our correspondents visited the scene around 7.25am on Sunday, the both ends of the street from Ikoku and UBA had been condoned off, while armed policemen and machete-wielding members of the Diobu Vigilantes were seen preventing people from coming into the street. Speaking on the incident, Assistant Chief Security Officer of the Azikiwe Street, Collins Johnbull, who said he was in the area when the incident occurred, noted that some of his men were hit by bullets, while chasing after the suspects and were receiving treatment in hospital. He stated, “I was on my duty post and we observed some movement between 8pm and 9pm. We saw some strange faces, about five of them. They entered into the governor father’s church.