Alleged members of Indigenous People of Biafra (IPOB) killed in the military air raids in an Enugu State community have been buried in mass graves, SaharaReporters had reported on Monday.
SaharaReporters had reported on Saturday that the Nigerian military in a joint operation with sister security agencies invaded Akpawfu community in the Nkanu East local government area of Enugu State killing an undisclosed number of people and burning houses.
The community came under heavy bombardments as land and air troops
stormed the community raiding some of suspected members of
IPOB and also burning there houses
The raids it which was said to have started on Thursday, came to a head on Saturday morning with military helicopters dropping explosives in forests within Ajeme Akpawfu village where the ESN allegedly used as a camp.
On Monday, residents and security sources told SaharaReporters that those killed during the raids had been buried in mass graves in the community.
"As I speak to you some bodies recovered this morning were buried in a mass grave," one of them said.
The source said that it was the same method used in 2021 when over 70 suspected members of the group were killed in similar raid in the community.
"Burying them in mass grave will make it impossible for anybody to know how many people that were killed. It has been a strategy to prevent human rights organisations to accuse security agencies of genocide or mass murder. This is because these organisations will not have any figure or statistics," said the source.
A community source told SaharaReporters that no fewer than 15 persons were also taken away with two vehicles recovered in the camp.
The traditional ruler of the community, Igwe Augustine Nnamani, who spoke to SaharaReporters on Monday, could not confirm the mass burial. He, however, said he learnt that the military recovered two vehicles allegedly used by the suspected members of ESN in their operations.
He said "I am not at home because everyone in the community ran away during the invasion or security operation as they call it. I learnt that after the bombing the soldiers came in on Sunday with about seven Hilux Trucks. I don't know whether anybody was killed or not.
"I also learnt that they took away two vehicles allegedly used by the alleged ESN members. So you people should pray for us to have a normal life again."
He said that members of his family including his wife and children left the community before the bombing incident. He added that many other residents must have also fled their homes.
The President General of the community, Chief Godwin Anih, was quoted to have said that soldiers had been patrolling the community since the bombing stopped on Saturday night.
Efforts to speak with spokesperson of the 82 Division of the Nigerian Army were unsuccessful.
The Director, Army Public Relations, Brig Gen Onyema Nwachukwu, did not pick his calls nor respond to a text message, when contacted about the incident.
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