THE Indigenous People of Biafra (IPOB), yesterday accused the Nigerian government and its security operatives of bringing violence into the Biafra agitation, insisting that IPOB had always engaged in nonviolence and peaceful restoration of Biafra Republic.
IPOB media and publicity secretary, Comrade Emma Powerful, in a statement, also accused the leadership of Ohaneze Ndigbo, the South-East governors and those he described as Abuja political contractors, of striving to destroy IPOB out of envy because they preferred to remain slaves in Nigeria.
According to Powerful, IPOB under the command of Mazi Nnamdi Kanu would only be involved in the nonviolent and peaceful restoration of the Republic of Biafra, regardless of the level of provocation by the Nigerian Army and their Igbo collaborators in Government Houses in the South East, along with the leadership of Ohaneze Ndigbo.
The statement said: “From the inception of this noble and globally respected family of IPOB under the command of Mazi Nnamdi Kanu, our sole mission has been to restore Biafra. We know that freedom from the concocted contraption called Nigeria is an expensive undertaking, both in terms of human life and resources.
“It is a sacrifice we are willing and able to make and have been making, to ensure that generations unborn do not suffer the same dehumanization, bondage and servitude our fathers have been forced to endure in Nigeria.
“It was the Nigerian government and her security operatives that brought violence into the Biafra agitation, not IPOB. Should IPOB decide to engage in the armed struggle at a future date, the world must hold the government of Buhari, Igbo governors and Ohaneze Ndigbo responsible.
“They brought war and death to us and they will one day, in the not too distant future, reap what they sowed.
“For Nnia Nwodo (Ohaneze President), Igbo governors and Abuja- based political contractors, the followership and fame enjoyed by IPOB is a thing of worry that must be destroyed. For them, a Nigeria with Biafrans as slaves is better, as long as they continue to enjoy their status as ‘Igbo leaders’.
“They saw Nnamdi Kanu and IPOB as a threat to their way of life, regardless of how desperately our people want to be free from Nigeria.”
Powerful argued that IPOB had always held peaceful rallies and protests in and around major cities across Biafraland without any violent incident or objection from the masses, regretting that some people in Biafraland decided to pursue the Hausa Fulani interest by tagging IPOB a terrorist group in order to justify the violent crackdown on innocent Biafran populations.
He said further: “Our happiness is that today the world can see that IPOB is innocent and had totally vindicated us. We remain resolute in our quest for independence, no matter the high level of genocide, propaganda, intimidation, torture and abductions meted to us on a daily basis from the oppressive Nigerian government.
“As events unfold on daily basis, it is becoming very glaring to all reasonable minds that Operation Python Dance II was conceived by Igbo politicians, along with Ohaneze Ndigbo and willingly executed by the Nigerian Army, who are themselves looking for a perfect cover to unleash genocide on innocent populations due to their age-long hatred and contempt for anything Biafra.
“Fearing that any public inquiry will expose their complicity in the wholesale murder of their own people, Igbo politicians and Ohaneze have been busy visiting radio and television studios to sell the notion that Operation Python Dance II that resulted in the death of hundreds of people is justified.
“What they (Igbo governors, Senators and Ohaneze) have consistently failed to do is to point to one incident of violence attributable to the activities of IPOB. Instead, they chose to hide under the mantra of hate speech and violent agitation to justify the killing of hundreds and the military invasion of our leader’s home.
“This whole sorry episode marked the very first time that the political leaders of any major ethnic group in Nigeria went out of their way to invite killers into their land to kill their people.
“Unknown to the public is the fact that common envy and jealousy, not violence, is the primary motive behind the deployment of battle-ready Nigerian troops on the sacred land of Biafra.
“IPOB under the leadership of Mazi Nnamdi Kanu has become the most potent mass movement and catalyst for change than any other on earth. The popular uprising against the forces of evil and darkness is brewing and no amount of bribery, propaganda and cheap blackmail can stop us.”
