Terrorism report:  Grand conspiracy against us, says IPOB

The Indigenous People of Biafra (IPOB) has described the Global Terrorism Index Report of 2022 which rated as among the ten deadliest terror groups in the world as a conspiracy by the Nigerian Government and some foreign agencies to blackmail and demonise the organization.

In a statement by Comrade Emma Powerful, Media and Publicity Secretary for IPOB, the group said It’s very disappointing that a reputable organization such as Institute for Economics and Peace (IEP), a USA-based Institute that has been given measurable global terrorism index will descend so low to publish fictional and inaccurate accounts in their 2022 terrorism index report.

“In the IEP’s Terrorism Index Report of 2022, the current Nigerian Government was cleverly portrayed as having improved in counter-terrorism while in reality, the terrorists have become more emboldened during the period.

“In the same report, IPOB was mentioned as the 3rd violent group that has caused civilian deaths. We challenge IEP to present irrefutable evidence of where IPOB killed any person in Nigeria.

“On the contrary, there is much verifiable evidence both on print and social media on the massacre and extrajudicial killings of many IPOB members by Nigeria Security Agencies since 2017.

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IPOB Lawyers, Amnesty International Nigeria, International Society for Civil Liberties and Rule of Law (Intersociety) Nigeria, many Diplomatic Missions in Nigeria including Nigeria media have evidence of the mass killing of unarmed peaceful IPOB members in Nigeria.

Irrespective of all these illegal arrests, detention, torture and extrajudicial killings including the extraordinary rendition of our leader, IPOB has remained peaceful in the face of all these high levels of provocation. Nigeria’s Government is pushing the narrative that IPOB is the aggressor but in reality, we are the victims of the oppressive Government.

“They were responsible for 40 attacks and 57 deaths in 2022, an increase from 26 attacks and 34 deaths the year prior. IPOB is a separatist movement with many factions, many of which are seeking a peaceful succession from Nigeria”.

“An extract above from the Global Terrorism Index Report of 2022, showed a great contradiction from what is supposed to be assumed as a research and investigatory group. So IEP doesn’t even know which “IPOB” is peaceful and which is violent. This is what can be referred to as hyper-confusion.

“We have in several press releases distanced ourselves from those criminals being led by agent provocateurs in Finland. Their actions and inactions have nothing to do with IPOB or Mazi Nnamdi KANU. Some gullible IPOB members who joined them were dismissed from the movement.

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“In some cases, Nigeria Security Agents were the ones killing the people while the Federal Government of Nigeria rushed to the media to tag the killing on IPOB without carrying out any investigation.

“We challenge the Fulani-led Federal Government of Nigeria and IEP to provide any verifiable evidence to back their claims that IPOB is involved in any kind of violence let alone in terrorism.

“We encourage IEP to protect their earned reputation by sending independent investigators rather than relying on their agents in Nigeria who are under the pocket of the Nigeria Government for their report.

“IPOB remains peaceful but resolute in the pursuit of Biafra liberation through UN supervised Referendum. We are not going to be distracted by sponsored blackmail and propaganda, not now and not tomorrow,” the statement emphasized.