A man said to be a leader of the proscribed Eastern Security Network (ESN) was on Monday lynched in Imo State, Nigeria’s South-east, while trying to enforce the sit-at-home order by IPOB.
ESN is a security arm of the pro-Biafra group, IPOB.
A police statement on the incident said the man was beaten to death, before police operatives arrived at the scene. His gang members had fled.
Police identified the slain man as 34-year-old Obinwanne Iwu, from Ahiara in Ahiazu Mbaise Local Government Area of the state, according to the News Agency of Nigeria (NAN).
The police spokesperson in Imo, Mike Abattam, in the statement, narrated how the incident happened.
“Obinwanne Iwu, 34, who is an escapee of Imo Correctional Centre, Owerri, went to the market with his gang, trying to enforce a sit-at-home order of the proscribed IPOB/ESN terror group.
“They were shouting at the top of their voices that ‘today is Monday and everybody must obey the sit-at-home order.”
Mr Abattam, a chief superintendent of police, said the residents of the area got angry and resisted the gang, and grabbed Mr Iwu. The mob tied his hands behind his back and beat him to death, while others fled.
The police said nobody has been arrested over the incident.
The Biafra agitation, led by IPOB, has led to killings and destruction in the South-east
Imo is considered the hub of IPOB’s operations in the South-east region.
(NAN)
