The peaceful protest embarked upon on Tuesday by the Indigenous People of Biafra, IPOB, against the continued incarceration of Mr. Nnamdi Kalu the Radio Biafra Director, turned bloody at about 1.30 am early hours of Wednesday, after an alleged encounter by the Joint Military Taskforce comprising, Army, Navy, Police and Civil Defense, who clashed at Niger Bridge Head with some members of the IPOB who vowed to continue their blockage of the bridge for three days until Kanu is released.
The encounter left about nine people dead, five at Niger Bridge Head, three at Obodoukwu Road, a Suya meat seller said to have been hit by stray bullet who died instantly. Miscreants on hearing that some people have been shot dead by the joint Military taskforce went into another protest, marched to the Central mosque at near Onitsha Main Market and set it, a Hilux Pick Up van with federal Government number was also burnt when the Joint Military Taskforce held motorist and commuters hostage at Upper Iweka with sporadic shooting that has never been witnessed before in Onitsha.
The protesting IPOB members had blocked the Niger Bridge early Tuesday morning there by grounded vehicular movement in and outside Onitsha, and people who knew alternative through the river Niger boarded Flying and Speed boat through Marine Police station to cross in and out of Onitsha to Asaba, but incidentally the protest was aggravated with Wednesday early hours shooting to death of five IPOB members