IPOB Kidnaps Tiv Man, Accuses Him Of Being Fulani

Family Seeks Help As Missing Mentally Ill Tiv Boy Is Wrongly Accused Of Being Fulani Herdsman In Viral Pro-Biafra Video

The family of Samson Orban, a Christian from the Mindi family in Nasarawa State, has raised the alarm over a widely circulated video by a pro-Biafra group claiming that he is a Fulani herdsman trained in Elele military barracks in Rivers State to attack Southeast Nigeria.

The family has reported that Samson has been missing for over two weeks, and their search for him has been exhaustive. His father, Lance Corporal Aondona Orban of the Nigerian Army, who is currently attending a course in Kaduna State, revealed that Samson had been struggling with mental health challenges, which the family had been managing.

A video circulating on the Facebook page of a pro-Biafra group shows Samson tied up and being interrogated while appearing to be beaten, seemingly to force a confession.

When questioned about his origins, he responded, “Elele Barracks, Rivers State.” When asked which state he was from, he replied, “Arewa. I schooled from Elele Barracks.” He also stated that he did not know where he was when asked about his current location.

The interrogator instructed one of the pro-Biafra members to beat Samson, and he was immediately flogged. The interrogator then asked, “Didn’t they tell you that this is Biafra land?” to which Samson replied, “No.”

When asked how many people came with him, Samson initially responded, “It’s only me.” However, after being flogged again, visibly shivering and fidgeting, he changed his answer to “225 students, sir.” From that point on, he responded “yes” to every question following the assault.

In the video, the pro-Biafra interrogator can be heard saying, “Ndi Onuimo, this is where Samson is being held. He came to kill us.”

In an interview with SaharaReporters, Lance Corporal Orban revealed that his son’s mental health challenges had led him to wander off multiple times. He recounted a previous incident in which Samson attempted to cross into Imo State in search of a job but was stopped by soldiers who recognised him.

The family expressed deep concern over the pro-Biafra group’s video, describing it as misleading and distressing. They are urgently pleading for Samson’s release, emphasising that he is neither a Fulani herdsman nor a soldier.

“It’s not true that my son is a Fulani herdsman or a soldier. He’s a Christian, and he doesn’t even speak Fulani. He’s been having mental health issues, and we’ve been managing it as a family,” Lance Corporal Orban said.

He said, “What really happened is that the boy has a mental disorder. When I was going to Kaduna for a course, I told the mother that there was one area where one of the soldiers saw him towards the Imo River at the boundary between Rivers and Imo states.

“So, they saw him going down, and they rushed and asked where he was going in that environment. ‘Do you know that here is not good for you? And did you tell your daddy? What are you going there to do?’ He said he was going to look for a job in Imo state.

“So, the soldier asked him to enter the vehicle, and they brought him back to the barracks because they knew his problem. That time, I was working in the refinery, and when I came back, they told me, ‘See your son!’ We saw him towards the Imo boundary; we don’t know what he went there to do. We don’t want him to enter into the hands of people who will harm him.

“Look at it now; his brothers said they didn’t even know when he left the house. About two weeks ago, the mother called me to say he hadn’t been seen. They said they had searched everywhere and didn’t see him. I told them to go and report to the security agencies with his picture.

“They even called one of the teachers at the government secondary school, which is the school that Samson attended. I don’t know where those IPOB people got him. It was three days ago that my daughter called me, saying that my brother was with IPOB in a video shared on Facebook.

“When I saw the video, I said, ‘What?’ In the video, they were interviewing him, forcing him to say things he doesn’t know.

“Like I told you, he has a mental disorder because, at times, he talks like a reasonable person, and if you ask him the next day, he will say another thing. Like in the video, when they asked him how many there were, he said he was alone before they beat him, and he started saying there were 225 in Port Harcourt.

They asked him, ‘Are you in Elele?’ He said yes. ‘Are you a soldier?’ He said yes. ‘Are you training them in Elele barracks?’ He said yes. ‘We are 225 herdsmen.’ Is it the soldier that will train militants or terrorists? We were shocked by seeing the video. They branded him a Fulani, a boy who is Tiv by tribe and a devoted Christian at that. He can’t even speak or hear the Fulani language.

“He grew up in Elele barracks, attended school in the same barracks, and now they are carrying my son’s picture all over the world, saying he is a herdsman. My son is not a soldier. How can Elele barracks be training soldiers? Soldiers are not trained in Elele barracks.

“So, I am pleading with those holding him to release him. He is not a Fulani herdsman; he is not a soldier, and there is no way he is trained in Elele barracks. The boy doesn’t know how to handle a gun, let alone being a herdsman – herdsmen that are carrying weapons everywhere.”

The family is calling on the authorities to investigate the matter and ensure Samson’s safe return.

Efforts to speak with the Imo State Police Command’s Spokesperson, DSP Henry Okoye, were unsuccessful as he did not take his calls or respond to a text message seeking his comment at the time of filing this report.

Source:- Saharareporters