Police operatives of the Intelligence Response Team of the Inspector General have allegedly arrested several newsvendors and news distribution agents in Imo State selling newspapers that published stories about the Indigenous People of Biafra.
FirstNews gathered that the police team arrested the vendors on Monday morning at their base located at Number 5, Rotibi Street, Douglas Road, Owerri, as the circulation of the day’s newspapers was ongoing.
One of the vendors who escaped the arrest said the operatives accused them of circulating newspaper publications said, “As we were circulating our newspapers for the Monday edition, policemen putting on jackets that had IRT inscription swooped on us and started arresting us. The ones they took away were the ones that had Newspapers that had IPOB stories and the ones they said were against the Government.”
Among the arrested vendors were Nnamso Okoro, Nelson Enyiama, Blessing Isinwa, Onyebuchi Iwundu, and Michael.
Meanwhile, it was learnt that the circulation manager of the New Telegraph Newspaper, Chuks Ugwuibe is yet to be released from an undisclosed security facility after he was arrested in Orlu on Tuesday last week by security operatives.
The Commissioner of Police in the state, Abutu Yaro, said that the operatives were not from his command.