Veteran Nollywood star, Chinwetalu Agu, has said that he was arrested feeding hungry people and denied campaigning for the Indigenous People of Biafra (IPOB) and the Eastern Security Network (ESN) as stated by security agencies.
It will be recalled that the actor was arrested by soldiers in Onitsha, Anambra State, on Wednesday.
He was dressed in a Biafra attire at the time of his arrest.
In a trending video, the actor was seen seated on the floor, explaining that the outfit that he wore did not show that he was promoting the cause of IPOB or ESN.
He said, “I can wear this,” he said pointing to his outfit.
“This is rising sun, not Biafran, not Eastern Security Network, Do you understand? With my education, I know areas to go and areas not to go. It’s better for you to be videoing all this. Let’s listen to the facts and know how to react to the facts. This is a civil dress!
“I was buying bread, ten thousand naira worth of bread! And sharing it one by one, no campaign, no nothing, when they came, nobody was doing demonstration or carrying placard. People who were hungry, I was giving them bread. Is it wrong to feed people?”
There has been mixed reactions to Agu’s arrest, with the army authorities denying that he was manhandled.
In a statement on Thursday, the Director, Army Public Relations, Brig.-Gen. Onyema Nwachukwu, said that the veteran actor was arrested while wearing a very well known attire of IPOB.
Nwachukwu said that Agu attempted putting up some resistance when troops made effort to take him into custody, adding that he was neither assaulted nor brutalised.
According him, the Nigerian army recognises the inalienable rights of the citizenry to freedom of movement and expression as enshrined in the Constitution.
He however stressed that violation of the law by any individual or group to incite the public and cause mayhem will not be tolerated.
“It is therefore pertinent to state that while exercising such freedoms, it must be done within the confines of the law, bearing in mind the imperative for peace, and national security.
“For the avoidance of doubt and emphasis, the Indigenous People of Biafra (IPOB) remains proscribed.
“Therefore, any individual or group seen to be projecting and advancing the cause or activities of the group is viewed as brazenly challenging the constitutionality of Federal Republic of Nigeria.
“More worrisome, was the fact that considering the prevailing security situation of the region, coupled with the ongoing Exercise Golden Dawn, his action could be a tacit endorsement and support for the proscribed group.
“We have all witnessed how the activities of the group took a violent dimension in recent times,” he said.
Newsexpress
