#EndSARS protests: How IPOB made 8 attempts to burn P/Harcourt refinery – Expert

The November 2020 #EndSARS protests would have gone beyond killing and criminal looting of property across the country as the Indigenous People of Biafra (IPOB) attempted eight times to burn down the Port Harcourt Refinery Company (PHRC) and Indorama Petro Chemicals and Fertiliser Company in the state.

A top ranking retired security expert resident in Port Harcourt, Rivers state capital, who spoke with our correspondent over the weekend under anonymity revealed that the IPOB Arsenal Squad mapped out where to carry out their destruction beginning from their Oyigbo base in Oyigbo local government area of the state, the PHRC and the world-class Indorama Petro Chemical and Fertiliser companies all sited in Eleme local government area of the state.

He recalled that IPOB succeeded in their mission to Oyigbo where they killed 10 security operatives whose guns were also carted away as well as burning police divisions and High Court buildings.

He said, while Governor Nyesom Wike and the security agencies in the state were battling to quell the situation in Oyigbo, other group of IPOB had planned out to bring down the two critical companies in the state but effectively foiled by the Eleme Divisional Police Headquarters situated along Ogale Nchia road.

“My community informants confirmed to me that they leaked the security information to the Eleme Divisional Police Officer (DPO), CSP Jesse, who quickly effected a rapid response to curtail the unfolding plans of IPOB,” he said.

According to him, IPOB made three attempts in their first outing to attack the refinery through Agbonchia Eleme route but were repelled by the DPO’s crack squad while other two attempts of the group were to be executed through Agbeta-Ebubu and Akpajo communities routes respectively, but failed because the DPO re-enforced more, with soldiers on his side and succeeded in foiling their mission.

Our source attributed the success of the Eleme Police Division to community policing initiative of the Nigerian Police Force (NPF) under the President Muhammadu Buhari administration.

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