The Indigenous People of Biafra (IPOB) said on Monday that it has no hideouts, camps or terror cells anywhere, stressing that her members don’t live in bushes.
It also gave the Nigerian Army seven days to produce in court the 13 suspects linked with the organisation’s activities arrested in Delta State recently or face legal action.
The clarification by the IPOB came on the heels of claims by the Nigerian Army that it “raided IPOB hideouts in Delta State and arrested 13 suspects”.
Reacting to the claim, Spokesperson/Media and Publicity Secretary of the IPOB, Emma Powerful, dismissed it as “routine propaganda warfare”.
Powerful added that IPOB under the leadership of Mazi Nnamdi Kanu was a peaceful organisation made up of enlightened people.
He said: “Let us state unequivocally and for the record: IPOB has no hideouts, camps or terror cells anywhere in Biafra land, let alone in the bushes of Delta State. We are a peaceful movement of enlightened, urban-based, family-rooted indigenous people, not the nomadic bandits the Nigerian security forces are clearly more familiar with. We do not live in bushes; we own homes, build communities, and uphold values.
“This latest lie — sponsored and syndicated by the Nigerian military establishment — is nothing but a desperate, tired smear campaign aimed at demonising IPOB before the international community and distracting from Nigeria’s fast-collapsing security situation.
“While Boko Haram, ISWAP, Fulani herdsmen, and bandit terrorists continue to ravage the North and Middle Belt unchecked, the Nigerian Army is busy raiding imaginary IPOB camps in the South. How laughable. How pathetic.
“We challenge the Fulani Commandant of the said military operation to produce the 13 “IPOB suspects” in a court of competent jurisdiction within 7 days. If, after 7 days, these suspects are not presented in open court with credible evidence linking them to IPOB activities, we shall initiate a lawsuit compelling this military commander to appear before a judge to defend his reckless lies under oath. We are not playing politics — we are demanding accountability.”
The statement insisted on the sanctity of the IPOB as “the re-assertion of the identity of the Biafran people, a proud, ancient race that existed long before Britain cobbled together its colonial contraption called Nigeria”.
“Let the Nigerian public and international observers be reminded that IPOB is not an organisation that will be criminalised by state propaganda. It is a divine identity.
“We therefore warn the Nigerian Army, the police, and their intelligence chiefs to desist from their fruitless attempts to link IPOB to criminality. IPOB has no links to violence, terrorism or crime. We do not bomb trains. We do not kidnap schoolchildren. We do not decapitate soldiers.
“Let the Nigerian state and its handlers focus on their collapsing economy, their unpaid salaries, their security implosion, and their crumbling international reputation. Stop chasing shadows in Biafra land.
“The time has come to remind the Nigerian military — and those who command them — that IPOB is not afraid of the courts. If you claim to have evidence, take it before a judge. If not, prepare to be taken to court yourselves. You will account for your lies, your propaganda, and the blood you have shed,” Powerful added.
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