Nigerian police arraign 140 Igbo secessionists

LAGOS, Nigeria

At least 140 ethnic Igbo secessionists have been arrested and charged with attempting to sabotage or overthrow the Nigerian government, police said Friday.

"It is confirmed that 140 members of the Indigenous People of Biafra (IPOB) were arrested for activities incompatible with the law," Enugu state police spokesman Ebere Amaraizu told Anadolu Agency.

"They were nabbed on May 22, 2019 at the Opi Nsukka axis of the state based on intelligence information in relation to their unlawful activities."

Amaraizu said all of the IPOB members have been arraigned on treason charges and have been remanded in prison until June 7.

IPOB, whose leader Nnamdi Kanu is facing treason charges, had declared a sit-in for May 30 in commemoration of the outbreak of the 1967 civil war in which nearly two million ethnic Igbo died.

The group continues to insist on a separate homeland for ethnic Igbo. Kanu had long fled Nigeria after he was granted bail.

"The Enugu state command of the Nigerian Police Force is advising parents and guardians not to allow their children and wards to be used by any person or group of persons to threaten the existing peace and safety in the state," Amaraizu later said in a statement.

"The command further warns those with such notion and intention to desist from it as the state command, working in partnership with sister security agencies and relevant stakeholders, is assuring residents of their safety and security as those fanning the embers of any unlawful act of ordering a sit-at-home on 30th May, 2019 by law-abiding members of the public under any guise with a view to truncating the existing peace in the state will be fished out and be made to face the consequence of their act in line with the law."