IPOB PRESS RELEASE,
20/07/2023.

IPOB maintains that the insecurity ravaging the Southeast Region is a Nigeria State-sponsored blackmail against Ndigbo, particularly against IPOB’s peaceful movement for the Biafra referendum. We have constantly condemned and disassociated ourselves from the unknown gunmen and insist that Nigeria Security Agencies know those behind the masked unknown gunmen.

The global family and movement of the Indigenous People of Biafra (IPOB) ably led by the great and indefatigable leader Mazi Nnamdi Okwuchukwu KANU condemn the recent attack on the Police Station at Ikem Community in Enugu State on Tuesday, July 18, 2023, by unknown gunmen. We, however, caution Nigeria Police to stop linking the peaceful IPOB and ESN to the activities of the unknown gunmen that they birthed. Our investigation revealed that the previous unknown gunmen were the government’s special servicemen drafted from the Police, army, and DSS usually used for covert operations. These were special servicemen that the government uses to infiltrate or impersonate any group they consider a threat.

These unknown gunmen were those who led the prison break at Owerri Correctional Facility on April 5, 2021, for 3 hours without any resistance from the government’s security operatives. They also lead covert operations at Suleja Abuja Prison on July 5, 2020, without security resistance. If these men were not government agents, how could they have done this? How can a non-state actor carry out jailbreaks for hours without security resistance? How come for 2 years unknown gunmen have not yet been unmasked irrespective of the heavy militarization of the East?

There are unknown gunmen in all the regions of Nigeria doing covert operations. But the unknown gunmen’ activities in the East were to blackmail IPOB for launching ESN against Fulani terrorists. To give the unknown gunmen support, they have recruited some Igbo criminals and cultists to their fold. Therefore, the public should not be deceived by the so-called unknown gunmen’s attacks.

IPOB and ESN Operatives have never attacked any security formation or institution anywhere in Biafraland. Neither can IPOB and ESN attack any community in Biafraland. Does it make sense that IPOB and ESN will be paying the ultimate price in protecting our land from Fulani terrorists at the same time attacking the same communities?

It is appalling that Nigeria Police with all their acclaimed professional strategies and intelligence can not differentiate the work of unknown gunmen and ESN operatives for 2 years. Of course, Nigeria Police are aware that IPOB are innocent of all the accusations, but they have to work with the government that has vowed to destroy IPOB for demanding for Biafra Referendum

Nigeria Government and its compromised Security Agents have never hidden their hatred against Ndigbo and IPOB. That’s why they kept linking IPOB to all forms of criminalities in the East.

As a result of their hatred against Ndigbo and desperation to destroy IPOB’s peaceful struggle, they created unknown gunmen to carry out covert violent oppressive operations, they now started linking IPOB with Emefele case tagging IPOB Lawyers to IPOB matters, which led Lawyers involvement to IPOB matters and they quickly tag the violence on IPOB to tarnish our reputation. Their strategies and modus operandi with unknown gunmen to demonize IPOB and ESN have failed woefully. The world has expected them to arrest and prosecute members of the unknown gunmen for 2 years but all to no avail because it is their covert operation.

Those linking IPOB to the unknown gunmen, criminals, and cultists are ignorant of the Nigerian government security’s sting operations. The desperate efforts by the Nigerian government and its compromised security agencies to blackmail IPOB with any violent crime in the East will always fail because the world knows that IPOB is a peaceful movement fighting for the freedom of our people under violent repression from the Nigerian government.

No amount of blackmail will deter ESN from its activities of getting rid of Fulani terrorists from our bushes and forests. Similarly, IPOB has gone beyond intimidation from the Nigerian government to retreat from our demand for our inalienable right of self-determination.

IPOB and ESN don’t indulge in criminalities because we are peaceful in our dealings and not hostile towards our people.

COMRADE EMMA POWERFUL, MEDIA, AND PUBLICITY SECRETARY FOR IPOB