DHQ: Kanu not in military custody
The Defence Headquarters (DHQ) yesterday said the leader of the Indigenous People of Biafra (IPOB), Nnamdi Kanu, is not in the custody of the military.
Defence spokesman, Major General John Enenche, at a press conference in Abuja that it was not the responsibility of the DHQ to declare Nnamdi Kanu wanted.
“Nnamdi Kanu is not in the custody of the military,” he said.
He also dispelled fears over the October 1 quit notice given to Igbo’s to leave the North and denied reports that the military raided the home of Nnamdi Kanu.
He said: “Nobody raided Kanu’s home and I stand to be justified, not from the information I got. I was watching it live, I was monitoring it live and also speaking with them on the ground.”
“The people that came out there that I saw were the Biafra security service and Biafra National Guard.
“I think I later confirmed that there was nothing to actually justify them legally to mount roadblocks. I saw the militancy, nobody told me and I saw the action there. We are still investigating.
“For the past couple of days since the operation started, the feedback I have been getting from that place is that yes, they are happy.
“Some of them were actually afraid even before the operation started not of our troops but of the people that were actually getting them to fight, people that were actually intimidating them. But now, they have a lot of relief.
“We have our sources of information as information outfits of the armed forces. We also get information from the general public using our own sources as a form of checks and balances,” he added.
He said the armed forces of Nigeria were not alarmed by worries of an increasing militarization of the country.
”Other countries passed through this, if you go into history, before getting to where they are as developed countries today. Like in China, you see one policeman inside a car, you hardly see a military man outside and it depends on the developmental process and what you passed through.
“That’s why in simple terms, I will tell you that we are not alarmed at all. For example, in the last terrorist attack in the UK, 24 hours after the attack, the government asked the military to take over the area.
”If the UK government can tell the military to take over, to back up the police, I think we are just about 100 years old of amalgamation and we about 57 years old, it’s not out of place,” he said.