At least two farmers were killed during an attack by the Nigerian military on Orlu early on Thursday.
Local sources said the soldiers who were combing the forests in search of Operatives of the Eastern Security Network shot dead two farmers in the process.
“They must have mistaken them for operatives of the ESN”, a source told Standardobservers.
“Their families picked their remains up later in the afternoon as everyone barricaded themselves inside the house out of fear of the military guns.
” The tension is high. People are moving out of Orlu out of fear. No one knows the next plan of the military”
Recall that a clash between the ESN operatives and soldiers in the area earlier in January resulted in the heavy casualties on the side of the soldiers who were out gunned by the ESN operatives and resorted to the killing of civilians.
The sources said markets and schools and other public places were speedily shut down as families searched for their loved ones.
Meanwhile, the Indigenous People of Biafra, IPOB says the Nigerian government through its military has finally declared open confrontation with the Biafran people in their bid to harass, intimidate and cow us into submission to relinquish our ancestral lands to foreign Fulani terrorists.
Mazi Chika Edoziem, Head of Directorate of IPOB in a statement called on the group worldwide to gird their loins and be prepared for the long drawn out battle ahead.
“The leadership of the Indigenous people Of Biafra make bold to state unequivocally that there shall be no inch of Biafran land (Biafran territory) to be ceded to the Fulani Marauders from the Sahel.
” The Nigerian army has thrown the gauntlet and we the Indigenous People Of Biafra Shall accept their challenge because there will neither be retreat nor surrender on this our journey to liberty and freedom.
” Now that the Nigerian government has activated its final solution to the Biåfran question with Helicopter gunships in Orlu, they have crossed the line of no return and for us the Indigenous People of Biafra there is only one option that is open for us. We MUST defend every inch of our ancestral land and we MUST defend our inalienable right to live in the land of our ancestors as a free people to develop our CHUKWUOKIKEABIAMA given talents for the benefit and elevation ofour people just like our ancestors did thousands of years before us.
“Every IPOB family member should be very conscious of the time we have entered and exhibit the highest level of discipline and be ready to follow every directive as will be issued by Onyendu Mazi Nnamdi Kanu the leader of the Indigenous people of Biafra (IPOB) worldwide”
Also, the Nigerian Army on Thursday confirmed that its troops alongside helicopters of the Nigerian Air Force (NAF) carried out the air and land operations in Orlu and Orsu Local Government Areas of the State.
Spokesperson of 34 Artillery Brigade, Obinze, Owerri, Babatunde Zubairu, who confirmed the deployment of helicopters and other military gadgets in the operations, said it was to root out activities inimical to the peace and progress of the area.
The military said the operations were in search of the camps allegedly occupied by elements of the Eastern Security Network (ESN) powered by the Indigenous People of Biafra (IPOB).
It, however, denied that locals were harassed during the operations, adding that the operation was an offshoot of military intelligence
