Imo State Governor, Hope Uzodinma, on Wednesday accused aggrieved politicians of sponsoring Monday’s attacks by gunmen in the state.
Uzodinma stated while featuring on Channels Television’s ‘Politics Today’ programme.
On Monday, gunmen attacked the Owerri Correctional Prison and freed over 1800 inmates. They also burnt down the Imo State Police Command headquarters in Owerri and razed all the vehicles parked at the command headquarters.
They also set free suspects in the cells at the State Criminal Investigation Department of the command and attempted to loot police armoury in the state.
The gunmen were said to have operated from 1am till 3am on Monday and sang solidarity songs at the Government House Roundabout for about 30 minutes before attacking the facilities.
Police have since accused members of the Eastern Security Network, the security arm of the proscribed Indigenous People of Biafra, of being behind the attacks but IPOB has since denied the allegation.
But Uzodinma, who spoke on the television programme, discredited the claim that IPOB members carried out the attacks.
According to him, “Their (attackers’) tactics is that they try to identify grievances of people in a particular area. If it is in Imo State and probably there are some IPOB people who are not happy, they hire hoodlums from outside Imo State, they bring them in pretending to be IPOB and they commit these crimes and they go away.
“So, it is not about IPOB. Yes, we agree, we have aggrieved IPOB members but I can tell you those who are doing this destruction, most of them were brought in from outside Imo State.
“What is important for Nigerians to know is the plot by a group of aggrieved politicians to destabilise the government of APC (All Progressives Congress).
“I have done some thorough investigation and I have some credible lead as to those who are sponsoring these activities of these hoodlums.
“I don’t want to pre-empt the investigations of other security agencies but I can tell you we are working hard to ensure the sponsors of this dastardly acts must be brought to book.”