The Indigenous People of Biafra, on Tuesday, called on Igbo politicians to desist from political witch-hunts and backbiting and instead collaborate to address the root causes of insecurity in the region, which are well known to all.
The pro-Biafran group asserted that the continued incarceration of its leader, Mazi Nnamdi Kanu, chronic youth unemployment, and the shoot-at-sight policy of security agents are the primary issues fueling insecurity in the Southeast.
In a press statement released on Tuesday, IPOB spokesman Emma Powerful stated that all hands must be on deck to minimise this trend and secure the region before enemies leverage it to complete the “holocaust.”
Powerful claimed that the restiveness witnessed in the Southeast is primarily due to the activities of government-sponsored criminals.
The statement read in part: “Southeast politicians should wake up and work together to end insecurity in the region. They should stop sponsoring hardened armed robbers and political thugs in our area in the hope of discrediting the legitimate activities of the great and noble IPOB.
“If this were not the case, what is stopping Southeast governors from honouring their pledge to visit President Bola Tinubu to seek the release of Mazi Nnamdi Kanu? They have failed in this singular undertaking because they seem to benefit directly from the violence and mayhem through increased federal government security budget allocations.
“They know that the release of our leader will bring the activities of these fifth columnists to an abrupt end, so why the delay if they don’t harbour ulterior motives? The Southeast Governors Forum must be brave enough to explain to the public why they have no desire to work collectively to end the criminal activities of these well-known individuals.
“It appears that some of these governors are in cahoots with sworn enemies of the Igbo race; there seems to be a well-orchestrated plan by local and foreign elements, in tandem with these Igbo politicians, to reduce the agitation for Biafran independence to a mere criminal enterprise, with the hope of displacing IPOB as the preeminent movement fighting for the liberation of our people through a UN-supervised referendum.
“The Southeast was once known, both internationally and locally, as the most peaceful and safest region in Nigeria until ethnic hatred compelled the last administration to launch successive murderous incursions into our land, starting from the Nkpor massacre of 2016 to Operation Python Dance, which claimed thousands of lives. The Federal Government of Nigeria, aided by some cowardly politicians, has instituted and entrenched insecurity in Igboland.”
According to the group, the reluctance of these same Igbo governors to seek the release of Mazi Nnamdi Kanu is a ploy to blackmail IPOB into abandoning its peaceful and non-violent agitation.
“We are aware that two serving governors and one former governor have sworn that unless IPOB is irredeemably weakened or its global reputation as a peaceful movement tarnished in the eyes of the international community, they will continue to work against the release of Mazi Nnamdi Kanu. They know that the release of Onyendu will immediately end the insecurity plaguing our homeland, which they do not want because they are direct beneficiaries of that insecurity.
“We demand that the political bickering among Ndigbo should stop so that we can all work together to separate the common criminals from legitimate agitators. The foreign-backed criminals who are here to annihilate our people will be rendered impotent. Anyone claiming ignorance of these facts is deceiving themselves.
“IPOB is a global peaceful movement and will take it upon itself to ensure that peace prevails in the region, especially during the upcoming festive period,” the statement added.