6 members of the Indigenous People of Biafra were on Tuesday killed in Aba, Abia state, while 20 others were arrested by security agents.

The IPOB members were said to have been protesting the continued detention of their leader, Nnamdi Kanu, who is facing trial for treason and other crimes against the federal government.

Vanguard reports that the protest, which- as always- started peacefully, eventually ‘turned bloody as a combined team of security agents, comprising soldiers and policemen allegedly fired shots at the protesters’.

The protesters were said to have been in a prayer session at National High School, along Port Harcourt-Aba road, when security agents arrived and arrested some of their leaders- which led to a melee that resulted into injuries and deaths.

An eyewitness was quoted to have said: “The protesters as usual, gathered at the school to pray before taking off, but soldiers and policemen invade the area. There was heavy shooting. I saw more than three dead people. Many others were injured.”

An IPOB official- speaking anonymously- said security agents arrested the group’s Aba Coordinator and some of his assistants.

The official revealed that 20 IPOB members were being detained by the Police while the casualty figure from the clash with the police would have been higher had some of the protesters not escaped,

The report further states that 30 members of the group were receiving medical treatment at various hospitals in Aba.

Mazi Emeka