An oil worker, Mr. Henry Chikodi, has raised the alarm over the disappearance of his nephew, Mr Mbanaso Onyema Stephen, whom he said had yet to be seen since he escaped arrest by the Nigerian military following a serious clash between Fulani herdsmen and members of the Indigenous People of Biafra (IPOB) at Umuowa, Orlu Local Government Area of Imo State, on June 20, 2019.

Mr. Chikodi, uncle of the missing freedom rights activist, noted that the clash attracted a brutal crackdown by military operatives hunting IPOB members and volunteers of the separatist group’s security arm, the Eastern Security Network (ESN).

He said in a recent distress message sent out on behalf of Stephen’s illiterate parents in the village: “For the past almost three years now, when Mr Mbanaso Onyema Stephen escaped the military arrest, I have not seen him till this point. We have visited different security agencies but he is nowhere to be found.

“From 2019 to this year, the military personnel have never relented in going to different communities both in Orlu and outside Orlu Local Government Area of our State, Imo, arresting, killing, maiming the IPOB members and ESN, destroying houses and properties.

“I, Mr Chikodi, I am making this publication to alert everyone of our predicament. In case you have seen Mr Mbanaso Onyema Stephen, please reach us through the below contact or address:

“+2347010750124 / Mbanaso’s Compound, Umuowa, Orlu L.G.A, Imo State.”

The June 20, 2019 clash between Fulani herdsmen and IPOB members in Umuowa reportedly led to the destruction of houses, farm lands and loss of life in the community.

According to Mr. Chikodi, “Because of the clash that happened between Fulani herdsmen and IPOB members in Umuowa, the military invaded the community on the 30th of June 2019 to arrest Mr Mbanaso Onyema Stephen, a youth leader and also a member of IPOB, but he escaped arrest when his house was invaded. About five people were arrested in the community when the military came.

“As the military personnel came to the house of the community youth leader and couldn’t find him, they destroyed his properties and house. In that military operation he lost his daughter by name Chimamada as a result of blunt force trauma to the head following the military invasion. Before Chimamada died she was rushed to Premium Care Hospital in Lagos by her mother but died in the hospital while undergoing treatment.”

•PHOTO: Umuowa, Orlu freedom rights activist, Mbanaso Onyema Stephen, has yet to be seen since the June 20, 2019 military invasion of his community

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