MASSOB - "We Will Bring Down Nigeria If Boko Haram Attacks Igboland" Stated Following The Arrest Of 486 Suspected Boko Haram Members In Abia State

The Movement for Actualization of the Sovereign State of Biafra has threatened to "bring down" Nigeria should any part of the Southeast be bombed. And this is coming days after bombs were discovered at Winners' Chapel church in Owerri and alleged Boko Haram members arrested in Abia.
MASSOB leader Ralph Uwazuruike, who spoke in a telephone interview with The Nation, warned that his group would no longer tolerate the mindless killing of Ndigbo in any part of the country.
According to him, the movement would "retaliate with equal and decisive force if terrorists attack any city in the zone".
His words:
"The position of MASSOB on this matter is firm. We will bring down Nigeria, if any bomb goes off in the Southeast. We can no longer tolerate the mindless killing of Ndigbo
in any part of Nigeria because we will retaliate with equal force against any attack on any part of Igboland."
The group also warned against what it described as the deliberate posting of military, police, Customs and Immigration officers, who are Igbo, to the Northeast to confront the Boko Haram insurgents.
It alleged that their counterparts from the North were being posted to the Southeast for safety. But MASSOB did not support its stand with figures. MASSOB claimed that such a measure was part of the grand plan of the pre-Nigerian civil war agenda to totally annihilate Igbo officers and men in the nation's military by the powers that be.
Boko Haram Members Arrested In Abia Escape To Rivers State
Following the arrest of 486 suspected Boko Haram members in Asa in Ukwa West Local Government Area of Abia State, southeast Nigeria, there are indications that two bus loads of the suspects managed to escape to Rivers State.
The Chief Press Secretary to the Abia State Governor, Charles Ajunwa stated in a telephone chat with P.M.NEWS this morning.
He, however declined to give further details in the wake of last Sunday's interception of a convoy of 33 buses conveying 486 suspected insurgents including eight females between Aro Ngwa and Imo Gate along the Enugu-Port Harcourt expressway.
The Commissioner for Information and Strategy, Abia State, Dr. Eze Chikamnayo, also explained that two buses escaped with their occupants. The buses appear to be at large as none of them has been tracked down at the time of filing in this report.
The 144 Battalion of the Nigerian Army intercepted the suspects at about 3a.m. on Sunday. They claimed to have come from different parts of the Northern states and aged mainly between 16 and 24 and were said to be searching for jobs.
Lieutenant Colonel Rasheed Omolori confirmed the arrest, while briefing newsmen alongside Chikamnayo and Ajunwa at the Headquarters of the 144 Battalion of the Army, Asa where the suspects are being detained.
Although Lieutenant Colonel Omolori declined comment, he said the incident has been reported to the Defence Headquarters, Abuja.
The Information Commissioner said the sheer size of the movement made it suspicious, adding that none of the suspects was able to identify the location they were heading to and wondered how such a long motorcade could not be intercepted by security personnel until they reached Abia.
Dr. Chikamnayo said that at the moment, the Army and other security agencies in the state were working to unravel the actual mission of the suspects and those behind the movement.
He thanked the state Governor, Chief Theodore Orji for creating the enabling environment and investing resources for security personnel to do their job effectively as well as lauded the men of the Nigerian Army and other security agencies for being alive to their responsibility.
He said if other security personnel in other parts of the country will do as much as their counterparts in Abia, insurgency in the country will be a thing of the past.
"I expect every state to work hand-in-hand with their security personnel to check insurgency. Every security problem is local and if we handle it locally it will be nipped in the bud," he said.
He cited the case of Abia State during the days of kidnapping and how it was taken as an Abia problem and condemned the idea of demonstrating in Abuja over matters that should be handled locally.
[Reported By PM News Lagos]