The Indigenous People of Biafra (IPOB) has rejected allegations by former Abia State governor and Senate Chief Whip, Senator Orji Uzor Kalu, that 30,000 people lost their lives in the South-East as a result of the activities of the group’s leader, Mazi Nnamdi Kanu.
In a statement issued by its Media and Publicity Secretary, Emma Powerful, titled “IPOB Did Not Cause the Insecurity and Mortality in the East; Orji Uzor Is a Liar and a Distracted Individual,” IPOB condemned the senator’s claims as “irresponsible,” “false,” and driven by “selfish political gain.”
IPOB said the claims made by Kalu “arise from a malevolent spirit and a person who has chosen to barter his kin for selfish political gain.”
“IPOB is extremely upset and enraged by Orji Uzor’s false statements, as his assertions are entirely fabricated and part of a deliberate campaign to undermine IPOB and MNK,” the statement said.
The group insisted that insecurity, killings, and destruction in the region “were orchestrated by the Nigerian government and certain Eastern politicians to blackmail IPOB and ESN.”
IPOB maintained that its agitation has remained non-violent, despite what it described as years of arrests, torture, forced disappearances, and extrajudicial killings of its members by security agencies.
“The Nigerian Government and its corrupt politicians like Orji Uzor are as malicious as they come, accountable for all the insecurity, unidentified gunmen in the East, and the terrorists throughout the nation,” IPOB alleged.
The group accused the government of consistently refusing independent investigations into the violence in the South-East since 2015, saying certain Eastern politicians “especially those in the APC” were complicit in the region’s insecurity.
IPOB also accused Kalu of grave human rights abuses during his tenure as Abia State governor, again revisiting long-standing allegations that he empowered the Bakassi Boys security outfit to carry out extrajudicial killings.
“It is clear to all and sundry that Dr. Orji Uzoh Kalu employed the feared Bakassi boys and slaughtered over 100,000 Igbo youths extrajudicially in Abia State and the South East Region while he was governor,” the group alleged.
The group added that his administration “remains an economic and security burden to this day.”
IPOB further stated that Kalu is still undergoing trial with the Economic and Financial Crimes Commission (EFCC) over alleged looting of state funds.
IPOB accused the senator of colluding with the Federal Government to isolate Kanu in Sokoto prison, “allowing them to disseminate falsehoods about him and the IPOB he leads.”
“It has become clear that Senator Orji was one of those who colluded with APC and Tinubu’s Government to imprison Mazi Nnamdi Kanu in Sokoto without communication,” the statement claimed.
IPOB alleged that Kalu was also involved in the “abduction and extraordinary rendition” of Kanu from Kenya in 2021.
IPOB challenged Kalu to provide evidence of his claims linking the group to deaths or destruction in the region.
“As far as Mazi Nnamdi Kanu and IPOB are involved, we bear no responsibility for the deaths of any Igbo individuals or the destruction of enterprises in the East since 2015,” Powerful stated.
The group insisted that it has instead been a victim of violence, pointing to “assaults, extrajudicial killings, forced disappearances, and judicial attacks by State-sponsored Security Forces.”
IPOB called on the public to question Kalu’s motives and history, describing him as “a traitor,” “former convict,” and “political risk.”
“Prosperity will ultimately be the final judge,” the statement added.
