Abia police command arrested more than eight Jewish adherents in Umuahia. According to Ima Nwachukwu, one of the Jewish leaders who spoke to The Trent, they were arrested around the country home of Mazi Nnamdi Kanu in Afaraukwu, Umuahia, where they had gone to perform some Jewish prayers and rites.
When we made inquiries at State CID Umuahia where they are detained, the police could not give any cogent reason for the mass arrest, except one officer who told our reporter that: “these people’s Jewish religion is not recognized by Nigeria and they were dressed somehow and were just shouting Shalom Shalom when police stopped them to question their mode of dressing”.
The officer requested not to be named for fear of reprisals from his superiors for speaking to the press.
Some Jewish leaders who have gathered around the area of the State CID told journalists that the detainees were “beaten seriously and their Jewish robes torn off before they were thrown into cell”.
Investigations by have confirmed that it is indeed true that the detainees were dehumanized and brutalized in various ways, ranging from beatings to verbal and psychological abuse. This reported sighted some torn off and shredded Jewish robes around the premises where the arrests were made.
We made attempt to obtain the phone number of the CP Anthony Obizi was not successful as of the time of filing this report. But another police officer on the scene who exhibited some sympathy confided in this reporter that the officers who made the arrest are “mostly Fulani Muslims that we know don’t like Jews, especially Igbo Jews”. The officer expressed the hope that the “CP will release these people once he comes to understand the religious and tribal coloration”.
