A passionate appeal has been made by the kinsmen of one Mr. Odinakachi Stephen Onyedikachi from Bende Local Government Area of Abia State said to have been arrested by men suspected to be operatives of the Department of State Security Services (Dss) on the month of May 30th, 2018, a day already established as Biafra day. During a fisticuffs between the Nigerian security forces and pro Biafra members known as the Indigenous People of Biafra (IPOB) who were agitating for their own sovereign country.
According to the spokesperson of the family, Mr. Sunday Eze, who spoke to journalists in umuahia, stated that Mr. Odinakachi Stephen Onyedikachi, had left home to the capital city Umuahia, early in the morning to join other IPOB members in a peaceful protest demanding for the sovereignty of Biafra Land, due to flagrant abuse of power, neglect and marginalization by the Nigeria Government.
It was reported in the various dailies that men of the Nigeria security forces swooped on them and arrested many members of IPOB at the Afara Technical School, Umuahia, a stone throw to the home of the IPOB leader, Mazi Nnamdi Kanu.
Mr. Eze, narrated that after the initial arrest, Odinakachi and other members of his group were dismissed, but not until August 17th, 2018, following another protest when a Hilux van entered the compound in search of Mr. Odinakachi.
It was the shouting orders of the security men that got our attention first.
They searched everywhere in the compound for evidence to implicate him as an arm carrying member of IPOB but found nothing instead they set the family house ablaze.
Before any assistance could come, the house was razed down where his aged and convalescent father did not come out alive.
We reported the incident to the police divisional office at the local government and they promised to unearth the perpetrators of the act as well as locate the whereabout of our brother. However, as at the time going to press, Mr Odinakachi is yet to be seen.
Though some of his members had regained their freedom but we are yet to see our son.
He is the first son of the family and there is need for him to be contacted before the burial of his father who died as a result of injuries sustained during the mayhem .
Meanwhile, the security forces occasionally come here harassing, demanding us to provide him.
We are yet to see him and we are using this medium to ask his captors to release him and bring back our son so he can bury his father or if he is dead, let’s have his corpse, enough is enough.
