Nigeria govt To Use Some Faceless Civil Society Groups to Launch Attack Against IPOB ---Intelligence Reports

Nigeria govt To Use Some Faceless Civil Society Groups to Launch Attack Against IPOB 

The Indigenous People of Biafra (IPOB) has described as laughable and disgraceful a plot by the DSS, Army, Police, NSCDC in partnership with some few civil society groups to peddle lies and false information against IPOB Movement.

IPOB, in a statement by its Media and Publicity Secretary, Emma Powerful, said the plot  was uncovered by its intelligence unit, vowing to expose and disgrace them.

It further accused the Nigerian government and its security agencies of being behind the killings and insecurity in Nigeria, urging its media teams to get ready for the real fight for Biafra restoration projects.

The Indigenous People of Biafra (IPOB) has described as laughable and disgraceful a plot by the DSS, Army, Police, NSCDC in partnership with some few civil society groups to peddle lies and false information against the group.

The movement, in a statement by its Media and Publicity Secretary, Emma Powerful, said the plot  was uncovered by its intelligence unit, vowing to expose and disgrace them.

It further accused the Nigerian government and its security agencies of being behind the killings and insecurity in Nigeria, urging its media teams to get ready for the real fight to protect the image of IPOB and Biafra restoration projects from Nigeria blackmail.

The statement read in Full:

"The attention of the global movement and family of the Indigenous People of Biafra (IPOB) ably led by our great and indefatigable leader Mazi Nnamdi KANU has been drawn to the laughable and disgraceful meeting held by DSS, Army, Police, Civil defence Corp partner with some few civil society groups to join hands to propagate lies and false information against IPOB. 

The M.Branch uncovered the meeting where agreement and MOU were signed with civil society groups and some human rights group except Intersocity group and Amnesty International, Human Rights Watch. The agreement was reached to tell lies against freedom fighting movement championing the liberation of the people of Biafra. 

IPOB intelligence unit uncovered this evil meeting attended by faceless human rights and civil society groups who agreed to peddle falsehood against IPOB across the world but IPOB family will expose and disgrace them. 

Amnesty International and Intersocity group were deliberately excluded from the meeting because the organisers know that these transparent Right groups would not key into their wicked plans to be telling lies.

We are waiting for them and their lies  because they will regret their decision and agreement soon.  IPOB will not relent in exposing them to the world. We are urging IPOB media teams to get ready because the real fight for Biafra restoration projects is about to begin, and everybody will be ready to tell the world the truth about IPOB activities. 

Nigeria government and its security agencies are behind the killings and insecurity in Nigeria. They are only trying to use it to tag IPOB as terror group but they will not succeed because the world knows that we are not terrorists. If we were terrorists, we cannot maintain our presence in over 100 nations. The lies being propagated against us by the Nigeria Government will continue to fail. Nigeria Army, DSS and police created this insecurity to demonise IPOB and its leader Mazi Nnamdi KANU." The statement concluded 

Unguarded Utterances, Generalizations And Lack Of Credible Intelligence Threatening The Formative Stability Of Gov Soludo’s Government--Intersociety

 Unguarded Utterances, Generalizations And Lack Of Credible Intelligence Threatening The Formative Stability Of Gov Soludo’s  Government--Intersociety

Onitsha, Eastern Nigeria

Sat 9th April 2022

 The Int’l Society for Civil Liberties and Rule of Law has identified unguarded utterances, generalizations and lack of credible intelligence as fundamental threats capable of undermining the formative stability of the Government of Prof Charles Soludo in Anambra State. The person of Prof Charles Soludo may also need to work hard to wriggle himself out of ‘over knowledge mastership syndrome’. This, if not corrected or tamed now, may lead to the new Gov being left or isolated by people of good conscience especially the ‘homeland’ democratic forces in the State. The ‘homeland’ democratic forces in the State have since resolved to join hands with the new Gov to turn Anambra State positively around on condition that their constructive voices must be heard and acted upon when freely given.

 

It is therefore a global elementary knowledge that sensitive security issues are not handled through unguarded public utterances and ‘generalizations. It is also instructive to point out that the backbone of security and intelligence in the world lies on detection, thorough verification of the detected and their handling styles anchored on pre action muting on what has been detected and un-muting of same after what has been detected has been operated upon through  intelligence and ICT powered operations. In Criminology, generalization, false labeling, criminalization and stigmatization of members of a general population or a particular group or associating them with acidic social deviances and violent crimes are the most undoing of any governing authority or policing organization. These are also totally forbidden in modern world of detective and investigative security and intelligence.

 In the Igbo System of ancient and oracular periods, “no matter how wise or knowledgeable an elder is, he must not be invited to preside over a sensitive matter he knows nothing about” and it is tantamount to “killing him” if he ventures into same. That is to say that he must seek to be fully briefed if he is to preside over it well and wisely.  In the case of the ongoing formative stage of the Government of Charles Soludo, it is our finding that the Gov meant to govern the State well, but appeared to have chosen to start on riotous and loquacious path. In other words, Intersociety is not certainly sure that the new Gov was well briefed and armed with credible state actor intelligence. Intersociety has severally investigated and found that between 80% and 90% of the state actor security intelligence and investigative information on the state of insecurity in the Southeast are highly disputable and questionable and these have led to wanton waste of innocent lives and destruction of nonviolent properties by deployed armed state actors.

 For instance, in the Southeast, a predominant ‘blue-collar’ or ‘street crime friendly social setting’, it is now the security and intelligence position of the state actors that “the armed robberies and armed robbers, kidnappings and kidnappers, cultism and cultists, rituals and ritualists, murders and murderers, rapes and rapists, vandalisms and vandals, car-snatchings and car-snatchers as well as white-collar or cyber crimes and their criminals have all disappeared from the streets of the Southeast and replaced by “ESN/IPOB terrorism and terrorists”. This is to the extent that out of tribal hatred or ethnic profiling, every act of street criminality is blamed on “ESN/IPOB”. This is even when it is the informed position of the Lombroso and Sutherland or Chicago Schools of Criminology that “the forefathers of Governments and other control systems including soldiering and policing organizations are social deviances and crimes or their deviants and criminals”. In other words, without social deviances and crimes, there could not have been Governments and other control systems. In every ‘blue-collar’ society, ‘blue-collar’ or street crimes and criminals abound and in every ‘white-collar’ or bureaucratic society, white-collar or pen and computer criminals abound.

 In the case of Anambra State, therefore, there is clear lack of credible state actor intelligence regarding the individual and group identities of “citizens in crime” in the State. In other words, in as much as some bush or forest  hideouts are held by the armed wing of the mainstream Biafra agitators, motley of violent criminal persons and entities, who patronize street criminalities, also abound in an ‘industrial scale”. The State is also under invasion by several armed splinter groups claiming to be “fighting for Biafra”. Just last week, a solid and credible contact close to Intersociety spotted a brown new Coaster bus marked “Izzi Youth Movement” possibly from Ebonyi State. The Coaster Bus was spotted along Obeledu-Oraeri-Igboukwu Road at about 7.30pm, fully loaded with young men and most likely armed with assault rifles, and on further independent trail and contacts, it was discovered that “they are heading to a camp within the State”. Survivors have also attested to the fact that “they recently encountered some forest camped violent entities/persons In Nnewi South axis (i.e. Ukpor area) speaking Ebonyi dialects and got nearly killed when greeted them with “All Hail Biafra/Nwachineke”.

There is also the likelihood of the presence of ‘copycat and fifth columnists’ armed squads possibly oiled by clandestinely destructive state agents to engage in sundry violent crimes with intent to blame same on the mainstream Biafra agitators. We are also intelligently and independently not unaware of the fact that there are several urban based violent criminals that specialize in snatching exotic or flashy cars and smart phones and forced or criminal electronic transfer at gun points of several millions of naira. In Idemmili North axis, for instance, an independent detective recently told Intersociety “that the boys go out in the morning with five cars and come back in the evening with fifteen flashy others”. There is also legal difference between “IPOB and ESN members”. In the eyes of UN System, “civilian person ancestrally found within the location of the Bight of Biafra in Nigeria including Gov Charles Soludo of Anambra State is a Biafran” while anybody that is a member of the armed Eastern Security Network engaging in universally outlawed violent activities is deemed to be in conflict with int’l and local criminal laws.

However, the above is not to say that the armed members of the mainstream Biafra agitators are saint or free from all blames or insecurity and other unsafe conditions in Anambra State. They have also not been responsible for the violent criminal activities in the State. This is more so when patterns and trends of their violent self defense activities are trade-marked, such as “the armed protest” of 7th April 2022 at Nnewi North and Aguata Local Government Area. From our collected intelligence, the attacks had their trademarks and were said to be “a protest through a barrel of gun against Soludo”.

 The beloved new Gov Charles Soludo is hereby expertly advised not to rush IPOB matters to avoid plunging the State into “another Imo State”. Solution to IPOB matters is not short term soluble but likely going to require medium or long term solutions. From our findings, a litany of goodwill still abounds for the Gov to move the State forward developmentally and securely. The primary task before Gov Soludo is: clean the State especially Onitsha, Ogbaru, Idemmili North, Oyi, Awka, Ekwulobia, Ihiala and Nnewi; open up drainages and waterways ahead of this coming rainy season, stop open defecation at Onitsha Upper-Iweka to Niger Bridge axis, identify and rout out touts and criminal revenue agents wrecking havoc in Onitsha and environs, clear blocked drainages across the State of illegal structures, rehabilitate failed State roads and monitor the conducts, activities and movements of his newly confirmed Commissioners especially those in charge of “Homeland (Security) Matters/Affairs” and Finance; the reappointed “mistakes of the Obiano Administration”.

 Additionally and finally, the new Government of Soludo must go for fresh and sound intelligence so as to credibly ascertain the following:

The number of violent crime armed groups and armed territorial self defense groups in the State and  patterns and trends of their activities

·         The groups among them that belong to street criminal entities and those that belong to violent self determination or self defense struggle

·         Those among them that are deviants and constitute threat to street or urban persons and their properties

·         The mission of the Ebonyi variant of the violently armed persons that are camping in several bushes and forests in the State

·         Whether there are copycat or fifth columnists’ armed entities oiled by clandestinely destructive State or Jihadist agents

·         The possible  camping of private militias among the motley of armed persons in the State

·         Those among the motley of violently armed persons responsible for incessancy of car snatching including the snatching of exotic/flashy cars from at least seven Catholic Reverend Fathers between Feb 15 and middle of Match 2022 around Ichida, Nnobi, Awka-Etiti, Igboukwu and Obeledu axis 

·         The Gov should also inform the citizens of the State the real target groups of the State Government’s “Amnesty” and whether the “Amnesty” is meant for armed robbers, car snatchers, phone snatchers and criminal electronic money thieves, house breakers, arsonists, burglary offenders, kidnappers, cultists, rapists, ritualists, hired killers; or whether the “Amnesty” is meant for armed agitators alone

 

Signed

For: Int’l Society for Civil Liberties and Rule of Law

Emeka Umeagbalasi (Criminologist & Graduate of Security Studies)

Board Chair

Chinwe Umeche Esquire, LLB, BL

Head, Democracy and Good Governance

Obianuju Joy Igboeli 

Esquire, LLB, BL

Head, Civil Liberties and Rule of Law

Chidimma Udegbunam 

Esquire, LLB, BL

Head, Campaign and Publicity

Contacts:

Phone/WhatsApp: +2348174090052

Email: [email protected]

Website: https://intersociety-ng.org

The Suspension Of Imam Shiekh Nuru Confirms That Nigeria Islamic Leaders Endorses Terrorism

  The Suspension Of Imam Shiekh Nuru Confirms That Nigeria Islamic Leaders Endorses Terrorism

About eight days after "terrorists(pet-named bandits)" senselessly attacked a train on Abuja-Kaduna route, the Nigeria President, Muhammad Buhari, and his Security Chiefs are yet to respond in either condemning the act or fishing out those that perpetrated it. The lives of the men and women lost to the terror attack do not seem to bother them or matter. The perpetrators of this evil still roam about freely. This has been the attitude of those leading Nigeria, especially the Buhari's regime, since inception.

The urgly terror act was heavily criticized by Sheikh Nuru Khalid, the Chief Imam of Apo Jumat mosque, Abuja. He made this criticism on Friday, 1st April 2022 during their Jumat preaching. Imam Nuru acknowledged the failure of everybody, especially religious leaders who could not teach the people that life is sacred, parents who could not teach their children that killing is bad, the governors, and other persons in government. He made a special emphasis on President Mohammadu Buhari, who had made a campaign promise during the 2015 presidential election campaign. Buhari promised in 2015 to end insurgency and terrorism in a short time, but has done little or nothing to that effect.

The Imam expressed his complete disappointment with the Buhari's regime, and states his readiness to bear whatever might be the outcome or consequences of his outspokenness.

And as usual with the Nigerian governing system, where victims and critics of wrongs are purnished, Sheikh Nuhu Khalid was suspended almost immediately after the preaching. 

The very disturbing fact about this situation is that nothing has been done to the terrorists themsselves, or Sheikh Gumi who is the chief mediator for the terrorists.

This shows that the Buhari led Fulani Nigeria government is in love and has been enabling the operations and acts of terrorism, rather than fighting it against all odds.

This further justifies the Mazi Nnamdi Kanu led Indigenous People Of Biafra(IPOB) in their quest for a separate State of Biafra.

Biafrans have respect for the sacredness of life and want to restore their sovereignty.

A peaceful referendum is most important at this point because, there is a need to separate a seemingly carnivorous animal kind of humans from sane ones. The two are not same, and should not exist together.

#FreeMaziNnamdiKanu

#FreeBiafra

Written by Onyemachi Gabriel

Edited by Cindy Etuk

For Family Writers Press International

Biafra: The Distinctively Clear Voice Of The People, Amidst A Seeming Political Propaganda

 Biafra: The Distinctively Clear Voice Of The People, Amidst A Seeming Political Propaganda 

Mazi Nnamdi Kanu, leader of the Indigenous People Of Biafra(IPOB) represents the interests of over 90% of the indigenous Biafra populations, entrapped in the British contraption, Nigeria. This is a fact. And it is obvious to all anyone who is sincere enough to tell him/herself the real truth.

You cannot give what you do not have.

In this era, the Kanu led IPOB have proven to possess a similar capacity as our forefathers who rose above their fears, fought against the terrors of the western invaders and finally drowned themselves in the sea, instead of being enslaved. IPOB have today, shown same fearlessness, rejecting the terror of the British created state of Nigeria, and have fervently protested the unprovoked incarceration and detention of her leader, Mazi Nnamdi Kanu.

Peace is the most beautiful price anyone can have and that is what Nigeria cannot give. While the intellectuals in Biafraland are busy talking about the cancellation of the sit-at-home protest being observed by Biafrans, which IPOB have cancelled because of political infiltration. They should remember that IPOB permits the people to decide to sit at home willingly on Mondays or go out to do their businesses. The IPOB leadership only condemns any effort geared towards enforcing whatever happens that day. That is a peaceful measure.

Anambra is a clear example of the people's willingness to protest the unlawful incarceration of Mazi Nnamdi Kanu, and militarization of BIAFRA by the terrorists infused Nigerian military. The recently elected Governor of Anambra State, Professor Chukwuma Soludo should desist from acting like a tool, instituted for the purpose of dissuading the collective will of the people. He should stop gearing more of his efforts towards trying to stop the voluntary Sit-at-home protest in Anambra, than he is doing towards finding the cause of the exercise.

The people of Anambra, and all Biafran in extension have shown via several fashions that Mazi Nnamdi Kanu is the only leader they will listen to his commands.

Efforts towards Kanu's unconditional release is what Soludo should more committedly concern himself with. This is something the voce of the people is clearly saying.

Nigeria and her handlers must also understand that without Justice, there cannot be peace. Biafrans on the other hand, are also not looking for an imaginary peace, but a total freedom. No country or community survives amidst propaganda, Nigeria has toed this ugly path in continued injustice, disobedience to the rule of law, brutal enforcement, militarized genocide and demonization of freedom of speech.

The people of Biafra have spoken and shown the Nigerian government and the world her determination to exit this unworkable amalgamated union called Nigeria built on ethnic bigotry and religious propaganda void of any unilateral value system.

#FreeMaziNnamdiKanu

#FreeBiafra

Written by Anioke Chukwunonso

Edited by Ogah C S Maduabuchi

For Family Writers Press International

Nigerian Military Continues Their Unprovoked Intimidation And Abduction Of Eastern Citizens

 The Military Continues Their Unprovoked Intimidation And Abduction Of Eastern Citizens

The operatives of the Nigeria Military in Enugu have stormed the homes of Mr Earnest Eze and Mr Ignatius Ifo in Nsude, Udi LGA, Enugu State.

This very ugly incident took place in what can best be likened to a "well planned kidnap operation".

It happened at about 3:00am in the early hours of Friday, 1st April, 2022.

According to the wife of Mr Earnest, the military men drove into their compound in five(5) Hilux buses, broke into their house and forcefully took away her husband, Mr Earnest in the presence of herself, Earnest's elder brother and Earnest's dead-frightened children, without saying a word or telling what the reason for such invasion.

After which, they drove off to the home of Mr Ignatius and took him away in a same cruel manner.

Till now(5 days later), the whereabouts of both Mr Earnest and Mr Ignatius is not known. Family members of the two have gone to make reports in the nearest police station, and to Enugu "82 division army barracks". But were not given any useful information regarding their own.

This is a kind notification to the public.

Let it be on record that the Nigeria military did not state the offences of these men. So, if they have committed any offence known to law, they should be provided and taken to court for necessary proceedings, instead of continuing to hold them in an unknown location.

Nothing must happen to either Mr Earnest Eze or Mr Ignatius Ifo.

Men and Women of goodwill should step in to prevail on the Enugu State command of the Nigeria military, and on the Enugu State Governor, Ifeanyi Ugwuanyi to provide these innocent citizens.

This Clampdown on the Eastern Citizens mostly the Igbo people must stop. We must all rise to unanimously condemn it.

It is Earnest and Ignatius today, it might be anyone tomorrow.

#FreeEarnestEze

#FreeIgnatiusIfo

Family Writers Press International, Enugu Correspondent, reporting

Biafra Liberation: Why Kanu's Nonviolent Approach Remains The Most Fitting

 Biafra Liberation: Why Kanu's Nonviolent Approach Remains The Most Fitting

As a theologian, Martin Luther King Jr. regularly thought on his notion of nonviolence. In his debut book, "Stride Toward Freedom", and other following books and articles, he detailed his own "pilgrimage to nonviolence." Luther King Jr argued that "true pacifism," or "nonviolent resistance," is "a bold confrontation of evil via the force of love". King thought that "the Christian teaching of love, acting via the Gandhian method of nonviolence, was one of the most formidable weapons available to oppressed people in their quest for freedom" because he was both "morally and practically" devoted to nonviolence. 

As a freshman at Morehouse College, King Jr studied Henry David Thoreau's Essay on Civil Disobedience, which exposed him to the concept of nonviolence. King was "fascinated by the idea of refusing to collaborate with an evil system" after growing up in Atlanta and witnessing segregation and bigotry on a daily basis. 

Dr. Mordecai Johnson, the then president of Howard University, spoke to King in 1950 while he was a student at Crozer Theological Seminary. Dr. Johnson, who had recently returned from India, spoke about Mohandas K. Gandhi's life and beliefs. According to King, "Gandhi was the first to turn Christian love into a tremendous force for social transformation. I found the means for social revolution that I had been seeking, in Gandhi's emphasis on love and nonviolence".

Despite his academic commitment to nonviolence, King did not personally see the efficacy of nonviolent direct action, until the Montgomery bus boycott began in 1955. During the boycott, King put Gandhi's ideas into practice. Despite threats to his life, King eventually decided not to deploy armed bodyguards with the help of black pacifist Bayard Rustin and Glenn Smiley of the Fellowship of Reconciliation. But he rather reacted to the violent situations, like as the bombing of his home, with compassion. King learnt how nonviolence could become a way of life that could be applied to every situation through his actual experience in organizing peaceful protests. The notion of nonviolent resistance was described by King as the "guiding light of our movement. "Gandhi provided the means, while Christ provided the spirit and drive". King would say.

Six important concepts guided King's view of nonviolence. Firstly, it is possible to resist evil without resorting to violence. Secondly, nonviolence aims to gain the opponent's "friendship and understanding," rather than shame him. Thirdly, evil should be opposed rather than the people who conduct evil deeds. Fourthly, nonviolence advocates must be willing to endure without vengeance, as suffering can be redemptive in and of itself. Fifthly, nonviolent resistance avoids both "external or physical violence" and "internal or spiritual violence": "The nonviolent resister not only refuses to kill but also refuses to detest his opponent" Love in the sense of the Greek term "agape", which means "understanding" or "redeeming good will for all mankind," should motivate the resister. The sixth principle is that nonviolent resistance requires "strong faith in the future," based on the belief that "the cosmos is on the side of justice".

Years after the bus boycott, Dr. Martin Luther King became increasingly committed to nonviolence. An India trip in 1959 helped him connect more intimately with Gandhi's legacy. King began to advocate nonviolence not just in a national sphere, but internationally as well.

Following the rejection of nonviolence by Black Power activists such as Stokely Carmichael, King lamented that some African Americans had lost hope and reaffirmed his own commitment to nonviolence: "Sometimes in life, a person develops a conviction that is so valuable and meaningful that he will stand by it to the end. This is what nonviolence has taught me ".  "Darkness cannot drive out darkness: only light can do that," he concluded in his 1967 book. 

Where Do We Go From Here: Chaos or Community?, arguing that violent revolution was impractical in the context of a multiracial society. Only love has the power to drive out hatred. The nonviolent way of the Mazi Nnamdi Kanu led Indigenous People of Biafra(IPOB), in their quest to restore Biafra remains the best way to go. We can see how possible it is to be committed to nonviolent without resorting to violence.

IPOB as a nonviolent organization has dramatically shown that Biafra restoration can be achieved without firing a gun shot. But just as it is said that "in every twelve, Judas will still exist to cause havoc", same is happening in Biafra restoration quest. Some criminal minded person has always hid in the cover of IPOB to cause troubles. But the message of IPOB leader is always clear to every ear.

Severally, you may have heard Kanu say that Biafra will be restored without a shot of a bullet. Yet, you find people that claim to be his disciples, advocating for a Biafra through war. This is a confusion believed to be the master-mind of Biafra enemies. But sincere Biafrans must continue to walk by the code, "Nonviolence".

And in all, Let Love Lead.

#FreeMaziNnamdiKanu

#FreeBiafra

Written by Obulose Chidiebere.

Edited by Okechukwu Chuks.

For Family Writers Press International.

Biafra: The Heavy Handedness of Nigerian govt precipitated IPOB self defense in Eastern Region – Report

 Biafra: The Heavy Handedness of Nigerian govt precipitated IPOB self defense in Eastern Region – Report

The intensifying violence Self defense associated with the IPOB movement in Nigeria’s Eastern Region is fuelled by the excessive militarised response of the state security forces as well as collective feelings of marginalisation and misinformation, a new report has said.

The report – Multiple Nodes and Common causes: National Stocktake of Contemporary Insecurity and State Responses in Nigeria – was authored and released on Friday by the Centre for Democracy and Development in West Africa (CDD). The report states that Nigeria faces an epidemic of insecurity, including IPOB agitation for separation, banditry in the north, and the perennial farmer-herder conflicts.

 IPOB, with its Security Network, the Eastern Security Network {ESN} has intensified their struggle for liberation in a radical push to separate from Nigeria and create an independent state of Biafra, decades after an initial effort caused a devastating civil war (1967-1970) which Britain secretly supplied arms to Nigeria to supress the determined Biafran people.

In their more organised self defence approach since Nigeria government launched heavy military attack on them. Alleged attacks blamed on IPOB and ESN operatives have resulted in the killings of state security personnel and civilians. The attacks have targeted police stations, government properties, and other public facilities, including INEC offices and custodial centres. Although in many occasions, IPOB has completely denied involvement in these violence attacks, the IPOB movement blamed Nigerian government of sponsoring terror attacks to blackmail and tarnish the good reputation of IPOB before international community. 

The group have continued to enforce a sit-at-home every Monday to protest the continued incarceration of their leader, Nnamdi Kanu, who is standing trial in Abuja. The weekly sit-at-home protests, with substantial compliance, mean schools are shut to avoid endangering pupils and suspension of socio-economic activities.

In its report, the CDD said military action by the government in 2016 worsened the IPOB crisis.

“Since the launch of a military operation known as “Operation Python Dance” in 2016, the region has witnessed an intensification of confrontations between IPOB and the Nigerian security forces – especially, the police, the Department of State Security (DSS), and the military,” CDD said, and then referenced a report by PREMIUM TIMES exposing massive extra-judicial killings by the Nigerian security between 2015 and 2016.

Among the factors contributing to the recent intensification of violent separatism in the region, CDD identified: “a violent defensive counter-response to the state’s militarised approach; a pronounced perception of contemporary marginalisation in Nigeria’s current federal political and security architecture; and the development and spread of false narratives legitimising armed mobilisation as a pathway to a regional secession.”

“For many interlocutors in the region — both those identifying as formal members of IPOB and those who rejected the movement’s aims — the militarised response of the security forces to the initial emergence of separatism was frequently highlighted as a key driver of the group’s counter-mobilisation,” CDD said.

The organisation further said that “attempts to address the conflict arising from secessionist agitations – which remain the most significant node of conflict in the region with a bearing on national cohesion – need to account for the central role of the state as a perpetrator of violence and injustice in any resolution.”

The Nigerian government has not only proscribed IPOB but also officially labelled it a terrorist organisation, thus ruling out formal discussions with the group.

IPOB leader Nnamdi Kanu is currently in detention where he is standing trial for treason and other charges.

There have been calls by political and traditional leaders from the Eastern Region for Mr Kanu’s release as part of efforts to calm the situation in the region. President Muhammadu Buhari has, however, rejected such calls, saying the trial of Mr Kanu should run its course.

On Saturday, traditional rulers from the Eastern Region restated their demand for Mr Kanu’s release. They said this was part of their agreement with IPOB leadership who in turn agreed to end the sit-at-homes on Mondays in the region.

Published by Premium Times 

Re-Edited by Family Writers Press International.