The Governor of Rivers State, Nyesom Wike has explained that the curfew in Oyigbo was announced to prevent reprisal attacks across the nation.
The Governor disclosed this on Friday, in a meeting with top Anglican chiefs in Nigeria.
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What you should know
Nairametrics reported last week that Amnesty International stated that they had received disturbing information that Nigerian soldiers were engaging in alleged extra-judicial killings in Oyigbo, Rivers State, and called on the Army to stop the killings.
Wike said that the stories of a massacre in Oyigbo were false, and that the troubles started when IPOB members suddenly killed six soldiers and four policemen.
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Governor Wike announced this week that the curfew in Oyigbo would be reviewed to commence from 7pm to 6am, in a bid to recover over 50 riffles stolen from burnt police stations.
While speaking with Anglican leaders on Friday, Wike urged the Church not to be silent on national issues, as negative aspects of society also affected the Church.
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“This is a time for the Church not to be docile; this is the time for the Church to speak out. When society is bad it affects the church,” Wike said.
“When governance is bad, it affects the church. No matter how you look at it, nobody can run away. Things are not working out well in the country.”
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He added that the Oyigbo incident would have escalated if the curfew was not imposed. It was done in a bid to curb reprisal attacks on Hausa and Igbos in other states of the federation.
“If we had not imposed that curfew that day, ask anybody; the war had turned out to be Hausa and Igbos.
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“Do you know the reprisal attacks that would have happened in other states, when they hear, your people have been killed? Do you know what would have happened?”
“We cannot use our state to launch an attack,” he said.
