Soldiers killed five and injured many Jubilating Pro-Biafran supporters

The jubilation by members of the Indigenous People of Biafra (IPOB) in Onitsha, Anambra State, over the decision of a Federal High Court in Abuja to unconditionally release the Director of Radio Biafra, Nnamdi Kanu, turned soar yesterday, when soldiers attached to the 302 Artillery Regiment in the commercial town allegedly shot at them, killing five instantly and injuring 25 others.
 It was gathered that the soldiers, erroneously thought the IPOB supporters had trooped out to protest against the detention of their leader, Kanu, not knowing that they were celebrating his release.
The incident happened at the Onitsha end of the River Niger Bridge and immediately caused panic among motorists and commuters who scampered for safety as tension pervaded the city.
 The IPOB members had on hearing the court’s ruling ordering Kanu’s release, trooped out in their numbers and converged around the statue of the late Biafran leader, Chief Chukwuemeka Odumewu Ojukwu.
They were singing and jubilating preparatory to a procession but were stopped by policemen and soldiers who were around the area.
Trouble for the IPOB members, an eyewitness who identified himself as Jimmy Okechukwu, said started when the IPOB members were accosted by the soldiers and asked to stop their march towards the bridge, an order the group allegedly defied.
An argument, he said, ensued between the soldiers and the group which later degenerated into violence.
 At this point, the soldiers, he said, started shooting sporadically to scare the swarming crowd of IPOB members, but unfortunately, they shot at five of them who died on the spot with about 25 others wounded.
During the shooting, people ran for their lives but some IPOB members who mustered the courage threw pebbles at the soldiers who retaliated by shooting at the defenseless people.
Reacting to the incident, Chairman of the Fundamental Rights League International (FRLI), Mr. Mike Umezulike, told THISDAY that the procession by IPOB members was peaceful and wondered why the soldiers shot at harmless people.
 When contacted, the divisional police officer in charge of the area, Mr. Rabiu Garba, said he was not in town, though he was told of the procession.
Earlier yesterday, Justice Adeniyi Ademola of the Federal High Court ordered the unconditional release of Kanu from the custody of the Department of State Services (DSS).
 in a related development, the father of the activist and traditional ruler of Afara Ukwu Ibeku autonomous community in Abia Stae, Eze Israel Kanu, told journalists at his palace that he was grateful that freedom had finally come to his son after three months in detention.
“My family and the entire people of Afara Ukwu Umuahia in general are happy over the new development,” he said, adding that he would continue to praise God for seeing his son through his ordeal in the hands of the security agencies.
 He also lauded all Nigerians of goodwill and conscience for speaking out and standing by his family while the agitation for his son's release lasted, adding that the judiciary once again proved that it is the last hope of the common man by applying wisdom in discharging and acquitting him.
While thanking the president for seeing reason in harkening to the demand for his son’s release, he equally asked him to further demonstrate his milk of human kindness by facilitating the sovereignty of Biafra to enable Ndigbo have their own independent nation.
 Nonetheless, he urged all pro-Biafra groups including MASSOB and IPOB to remain calm and pursue the Biafran project without confrontation.