The Indigenous People of Biafra (IPOB) has cautioned Nigerian security agencies against repeatedly linking it to the rising wave of insecurity in the country, particularly in the South-East, accusing them of using sections of the media to spread what it described as “satanic lies and propaganda.”
In a statement on Tuesday, IPOB spokesperson, Comrade Emma Powerful, said security agencies, including the Department of State Services (DSS), the Nigerian Army, and the Police, have turned the attribution of criminal activities to IPOB into a “cheap trick” to cover up their failures.
“It has become the cheapest trick in Nigeria: any time the DSS, the Army, or the Police bungle in their duties, they quickly fabricate a headline, ‘IPOB/ESN commander arrested’.
“Today it is kidnapping, tomorrow it will be armed robbery, and by next week they will blame IPOB for floods, for road accidents, or even for their inability to impregnate their wives,” Powerful stated.
IPOB maintained that it is a peaceful self-determination movement and not a criminal organisation.
The group accused Nigerian authorities of deliberately trying to demonise its members and the Igbo (South-East) people.
“We are not kidnappers. We are not criminals. We are not terrorists. Our only ‘crime’ is saying no to slavery, no to colonial injustice, no to the perpetual bondage of our people,” IPOB said.
The group dismissed recent reports by the Nigerian Army, which reportedly paraded an alleged “IPOB/ESN commander” identified as “Gentle.”
According to IPOB, the individual in question has publicly denied being a member of the organisation.
The group linked its treatment to broader anti-Igbo prejudice, citing attacks on Igbo voters during elections in Lagos and alleging a deliberate campaign to demonise the Igbo race.
“When you join in staining IPOB with fabricated labels, you are not just injuring IPOB, you are participating in the destruction of truth itself. And God Almighty will not forgive you,” the group warned.
IPOB, led by Nnamdi Kanu, has for years campaigned for the independence of Biafra, a region in Nigeria’s South-East.
IPOB was proscribed as a terrorist organisation by the Nigerian government in 2017 under former President Muhammadu Buhari’s administration, a designation the group and many international observers have contested.
The group’s armed wing, the Eastern Security Network (ESN), was established in 2020 to protect communities from herdsmen attacks but has since been accused by authorities of involvement in violent clashes and attacks on security personnel.
IPOB has consistently denied responsibility for such incidents, insisting it is a non-violent organisation committed to self-determination.
In recent months, Nigerian security agencies have frequently announced the arrest of alleged IPOB/ESN members accused of kidnapping, armed robbery, and other violent crimes.
IPOB, however, argued that these arrests are politically motivated and part of a wider strategy to criminalise its agitation for Biafra.
