Many years after the Nigeria civil war ended, the Enugu State Police Command said it had successfully evacuated a suspected leftover bomb in Oji River community.
It would be recalled that Oji River axis of the state was a battlefield during the Nigeria – Biafra civil war that ended in January 1970.
The command’s spokesman, Ebere Amaraizu, said in a statement on Thursday that the successful operation was carried out on July 21. “The Explosive Ordinance Unit of the Enugu State Police Command has successfully evacuated an object suspected to be unexploded ordnance (bomb), which was used during the civil war.
“The object was found at a farmland called Amaetiti in Oji River community within Oji River Local Government Area,’’ said Amaraizu, a Superintendent of Police.
According to him, an expert analysis indicates that the civil war bomb leftover has not been detonated and is of a high calibre.
The civil war was fought between Nigerian troops and the defunct secessionist republic of Biafra between 1967 and 1970. Enugu was the capital of the defunct Republic of Biafra. Over a million civilians were killed in the conflict. Most of them died from starvation.
There has been renewed agitation for the creation of Biafra in the South East of the country from secessionist groups like the Indigenous People of Biafra (IPOB) and the Movement for the Actualisation of the Sovereign State of Biafra (MASSOB).
Amaraizu advised members of the public not to tamper with similar objects seen or discovered during farming, building or road constructions. He directed that such finding should be reported promptly to the nearest police station or call the command’s control room number on 08032003702, 08075390883, 08086671202 and 08098880172 for prompt and necessary action.
