SaharaReporters has obtained an exclusive handwritten statement being used by agents of the Department of State Services (DSS) as evidence that “Biafran soldiers” linked to the Indigenous Peoples of Biafra (IPOB) routinely carry weapons to their meetings.
SaharaReporters has obtained an exclusive handwritten statement being used by agents of the Department of State Services (DSS) as evidence that “Biafran soldiers” linked to the Indigenous Peoples of Biafra (IPOB) routinely carry weapons to their meetings.
The statement, authored by Tochukwu Meribe, explains his first interactions with the IPOB and when he took an oath to join the movement.
“I attended the meeting with members of IPOB at Gochez Garden Wuse Zone 5 [Abuja].
“The members did not allow me into their midst. This is because they said I should take an oath, which I refused,” he wrote.
Continuing, he said he summoned the courage and took the oath on September 13th, 2015.
“They took me to the river behind Gochez Garden where I was asked to remove my shoes. We entered the river.
“They then gave me something to chew. After I chewed it, he gave me something which I held in my hand and he made me swear that if I betray (IPOB) the God of Thunder will strike me to death. After that I was welcomed [sic] into IPOB meetings,” Mr. Meribe explained.
Mr. Meribe then described the series of meetings he attended while with the IPOB, which ranged between one and two meetings per month.
According to the statement, Mr. Meribe was selected to be one of the youths that would make up the “Biafra soldiers” who would be used for “military training” in Bayelsa State.
Mr. Meribe disclosed that a woman attended a meeting with IPOB members carrying a “stainless shotgun” he also noted that one or two people were always armed.
“When I saw that what they are doing is not lawful, I decided to go to DSS myself to report the conduct of the IPOB,” he confessed.
Mr. Meribe also disclosed that in the second week of last October, 10 IPOB members were sent to Afara village “on an assignment for our leader Nnamdi Kanu”.
The statement in its entirety can be read below.
