Nigeria: Tension rising in southeast, 2 feared dead

By Rafiu Ajakaye

LAGOS, Nigeria

Amid rising tensions, Igbo secessionists burned a police post in southeastern Nigeria on Thursday, and separately two people were killed, according to the police and local media.

“The divisional police headquarters was torched in the early hours of Thursday but things have now been brought under control. The place is now cordoned off,” police spokesman Geoffrey Ogbonna told reporters.

Locals say the incident, in the town of Ariara in the state of Abia, stoked tensions further.

The Nation, a prominent local daily, reported at least two people killed and one other injured on Thursday in Umuahia, the capital of Abia, as soldiers deployed to quell disturbances shot at some young people suspected to be members of the Indigenous People of Biafra (IPOB) -- the group spearheading the secessionist bid in the mainly Igbo region.

Banks and other business outlets have also shut down for fear of violence.

Okezie Ikpeazu, the governor of Abia state, told reporters that the army has agreed to withdraw troops -- apart from pre-existing military checkpoints -- from Umuahia and the commercial capital Aba to de-escalate tension.

“With the expected exit of soldiers from the streets, we must warn that we will not tolerate agitators and protesters taking over the streets for any reasons,” he said.

Separatist agitation in the mainly Igbo southeast region reached a boiling point over the weekend as army deployed troops to parts of the region, including Aba and Umuahia.

The deployment followed rising activities of secessionists.

Video footage emerged Wednesday night showing half-naked separatists being forced to drink mud water allegedly by troops, sparking outrage across the country. The army said it was investigating.

Another video also surfaced on Thursday showing separatists stopping vehicles and asking if persons from the northern region were on board.

Both videos have led to calls for calm to avert another civil war, some 50 years after the country put down a 30-month insurrection to create a separate homeland for Igbo. The civil war killed nearly two million people.