umuahia nigeria secessionist leader seek independence nigeria miss since allege military raid two weeks ago leave house city umuahia riddle bullet hole windows smash doors hang hinge disappearance nnamdi kanu raid army say happen threaten ignite separatist unrest capable destabilize southeastern nigeria region million people die 1967-70 civil war short-lived republic biafra kingsley kanu 48 say old brother nnamdi indigenous people biafra ipob leader family home even sept. 14 soldier storm shoot everything saw say point bullet hole wall windows come kill everybody say add around 20 ipob members shoot dead body take soldier reuters witness reporter tv cameraman sept. 27 saw six corpses bullet wound morgue ipob say among members two resemble men photograph hold weep relatives tell reuters brothers kill raid though nobody could verify identities four others military raid nnamdi kanu residence military spokesman tell reporters capital abuja nnamdi kanu custody military allegation denial big flashpoint military deployment southeast begin september civil society group analysts say military presence last month designation ipob terrorist organization leader disappearance could prompt separatists abandon policy non-violence president muhammadu buhari muslim northerner make crackdown secessionists focus first speech august return three months medical leave britain hold talk arm force chiefs days late launch operation python dance military say intend reduce violent crime secessionist agitations soldier rifle present across umuahia capital abia state armor vans checkpoints motorists routinely question buhari already contend boko haram jihadist insurgency northeast seek maintain ceasefire militants southern oil-producing niger delta say former military ruler risk exacerbate situation militant attack niger delta surge last year troop deploy heavy-handed government heavy-handed approach shore local support radical group previously struggle broaden base say malte liewerscheidt global risk consultancy verisk maplecroft ryan cummings director africa-focused risk management company signal risk say igbo ethnic group dominate region long speak marginalize felt target government allow insecurity burgeon areas nigeria without similar deployments say cite attack fulani herdsmen kill hundreds people central nigeria last years tension follow arrival troop southeast abia governor impose curfew city aba last month several days tension ipob members troop lead claim group kanu house besiege soldier military deny videos circulate social media include footage purportedly show troop abia use stick flog men strip waist army say investigate heighten anger presence army scar people people speak happen biafran war say onyebuchi ememanka special adviser state governor member opposition people democratic party pdp serious security challenge would justify deployment troop say ememanka say never saw ipob members carry weapons though add uniform national guard secret service hold parade last weeks call new dimension red black green paint biafran flag color daub wall tree trunks across umuahia follow call referendum independence kanu release bail april hold nearly two years charge criminal conspiracy treasonable offences bring attention back issue however talk secession among people streets umuahia mostly hinge whether right make democratic choice future rather align ipob belief need separate state opinions tend divide along generation line young people bear long war express interest referendum old people remember war grow hear stories conflict often wary even discuss subject however pronouncement early year activists northern state kaduna igbos mainly christian evict stir ethnic tensions dispute act lightning rod frustrations buhari fight civil war government side young soldier lack development southeast decades cement belief among igbos marginalize michael ogbizi abia state police commissioner say 74 ipob members arrest since sept. 12 charge offences include murder arson many charge relate burn police station mid-september aba nine people die ogbizi say police record ipob members kill ipob spokesman deny group involve fire amid differ opinions group past conduct kanu disappearance create uncertainty future army kill let give us corpse say ipob leader brother add miss 82-year-old father 67-year-old mother release hold liewerscheidt say kanu die hand authorities parallel could draw origins boko haram insurgency begin death mohammed yusuf islamist militant group founder police custody would likely transform ipob precisely terrorist organization military claim already say tension grip nigerian city separatist leader go miss