THE Indigenous People of Biafra (IPOB) has raised concern over the planned massive deployment of soldiers to the South East ahead of an extensive sit-at-home and cautioned the Chief of Army Staff (COAS) Major General Lagbaja Taoreed, not to use that as an excuse to unleash terror on the peoples.
In a press statement on Friday, IPOB’s Media and Publicity Secretary, Emma Powerful, stated that the government of Bola Ahmed Tinubu should not toe the same line of his predecessor by sponsoring crisis in the East to justify military exercises like the “python and crocodile dances.”
While he called on the Nigerian government to release its leader, Nnamdi Kanu, he stated that, “the army chief, Lagbaja Taoreed, will not claim ignorance of all the previous press releases written by IPOB led by Mazi Nnamdi Kanu disassociating ourselves from Simon Ekpa and his criminal sit-at-home enforcers.”
He wondered if the military cares about the destructive effects of sit-at-home in the South East, why does the government continue to keep Nnamdi in detention after the courts and the United Nations have ordered his release.
IPOB however, warned the COAS not to hide under an ethnic bias against Ndigbo and IPOB to unleash terror “on our people in the guise of going after sit-at-home enforcers.
The group said releasing its leader would end the illegal sit-at-home, and accused the government of the detention of its leader to destabilise the South-East and blackmail IPOB.
The release noted that, “IPOB worldwide condemns the statement credited to the Nigerian Army linking IPOB to the incessant and destructive sit-at-home orders and enforcement in the South East.
“For the avoidance of doubt, IPOB is not responsible for Mondays nor failed 7-day and purported 2-week sit-at-home orders and enforcement. The reckless and abusive sit-at-home strategy is from the autopilot group led by Simon Ekpa.
“Why are they hiding like ostriches pretending as if they don’t know that it was Simon Ekpa’s group, not IPOB, who is responsible for the violent enforcement of sit-at-home?
“They want to destroy IPOB from within Igbo land, but they will fail, and all of the people involved will regret their involvement. The Nigerian government and her compromised security agencies run, but they can’t hide from the reality of their atrocities.
“We in IPOB oppose every military intervention in the East because they are usually of evil motives. We support them if they arrest the criminals and enforcers of the forceful sit-at-home, but they must do so at their camps. We will not support the government’s plan to invade Igbo land because we will continue to protect our innocent fathers, mothers, and youths.
“The Nigeria Army uses every opportunity to extrajudicially murder Igbo people any time they are deployed to the East. That is why we object to their presence as much as we detest the malicious sit-at-home and violent enforcement from agent provocateurs. we oppose military interventions because they will be used to kill and destroy the livelihood of our people.
“The Nigerian military must not use this as a conduit to illegally arrest, detain, and kill innocent Igbo youths, mothers, fathers, and even innocent IPOB members and ESN. IPOB members have no hands in the sit-at-home. We advocate that anyone caught enforcing the oppressive sit-at-home should be arrested, investigated, and their sponsors brought to book. The Nigerian military should not allow ethnic hatred and biases to becloud their professional ethics.
“The promoters of insecurity are not IPOB members but sponsored agent provocateurs and infiltrators working to derail IPOB and MNK’s achievements. Their sponsors fearing that the Biafra agitation is gathering global momentum sponsored them to derail the Biafra restoration project.”
