IPOB alleges house-to-house kidnapping, killing of South-East youths

The Indigenous People of Biafra (IPOB) has accused security officials of house-to-house kidnapping and killing of youths in the South-East.

While denying any participation in the killing of 128 security officers in Imo State as alleged, the separatist group declared that neither IPOB nor its security outfit, Eastern Security Network (ESN), had been involved in any attack on security officials in Imo or any part of the nation.

The Media and Publicity Secretary of the group, Emma Powerful, in a statement, accused the Nigerian Army and other security agencies of desperately searching for means to implicate IPOB and ESN to defend the continued unlawful killings of their members.

The statement partly read, “The attention of the Indigenous People of Biafra has been drawn to the fallacious and fabricated statements credited to the Commander, 34 Field Artillery Brigade Obinze, Gen. Raymond Utasaha, and Commissioner of Police, Imo State, Alhaji Abudu Yaro, that IPOB killed 128 security personnel in Imo State.

“The statements are not only fabricated, but ridiculous and untenable. How could IPOB that is not armed be able to kill as many as 128 security personnel in one state? What an illogical and ridiculous claim.

“We therefore wish to declare for the records that IPOB did not kill any security personnel in Imo or any state for that matter. IPOB, since inception, has remained a peaceful movement with the sole mandate of restoring Biafra.

“We have not changed our non-violent philosophy for the restoration of Biafra. If for any reason we need to change our peaceful approach, we shall make same public, but for now, we have not gone into arms struggle, and don’t intend to.

“It will be necessary again to clarify that IPOB is not, and should not be taken for ‘unknown gunmen’ that have been reportedly having issues with security agencies in parts of the country, especially the defunct Eastern Nigeria. IPOB should not be held responsible for the activities of a group not commissioned by us.

“Importantly, the Eastern Security Network set up in December 2020 has no relationship whatsoever with the unknown gunmen. ESN was a child of circumstance established to resist the killer herdsmen rampaging our communities. ESN operatives are in the forests where they are keeping their appointments with those invading our ancestral land.”