By PAMELA EBOH, Awka

The Indigenous People of Biafra (IPOB) has described the Global Terrorism Index Report of 2022 as a conspiracy by Federal Government of Nigeria and some foreign Agencies to blackmail and demonize IPOB globally.

It expressed disappointment that a reputable organisation such as the United States of America based Institute for Economics and Peace (IEP) will descend so low to publish fictional and inaccurate accounts in their 2022 terrorism index report.

This was contained in a statement by IPOB Media and Publicity Secretary, Emma Powerful, made available to journalists in Awka on Thursday.

The statement partly reads: “In the IEP’s Terrorism Index Report of 2022, the current Nigerian Government was cleverly portrayed as having improved in counter terrorism while in reality the terrorists have become more emboldened during the period.

“According to the report, the total dead due to terrorism in Nigeria for 2022 is 448 which in the lowest level since 2011. This is a concocted falsehood. In one State such as Benue State alone the Fulani sponsored terrorists have killed more than 400 civilians. The report as it relates to Nigeria showed a full script from Nigeria Government handed over to the Institute for publication.

“In the same report, IPOB was mentioned as the 3rd violent group that have caused civilian deaths. We challenge IEP to present irrefutable evidence where IPOB killed any person in Nigeria. On the contrary there are many verifiable evidences both on print and social media on the massacre and extrajudicial killings of many IPOB members by Nigeria Security Agencies since 2017.

“IPOB Lawyers, Amnesty International Nigeria, International Society for Civil Liberties and Rule of Law (Intersociety) Nigeria, many Diplomatic Missions in Nigeria including Nigeria media have the evidences of mass killing of unarmed peaceful IPOB members in Nigeria.

“Irrespective of all these illegal arrest, detention, torture, extrajudicial killings including extraordinary rendition of our leader, IPOB have remained peaceful in the face of all these high levels of provocation.

“Nigeria Government is pushing the narrative that IPOB is the aggressors but in the reality we are the victims of oppressive Government.”

IPOB sccused Nigeria government of being responsible for forty attacks and fifty seven deaths in 2022, saying that it is an increase from twenty six attacks and thirty four deaths the year prior.

Powerful insisted that IPOB is a separatist movement with many factions, many of which are seeking a peaceful succession from Nigeria.

According to him, the extract from Global Terrorism Index Report of 2022, showed a great contradiction from what is supposed to be assumed as a research and investigatory group, adding, "IEP don't even know which "IPOB" is peaceful and which is violet. This is what can be referred to hyper confusion.

“For the sake of records, IPOB remains one united family with no faction and a proven non-violent freedom movement with offices and members in over 90 Nations of the world including USA.

“In all these Nations, IPOB has been peaceful and law abiding with no trace of violence nor terrorism. For IEP to tag IPOB in their report is highly provocative and libelous and we shall challenge this report in proper perspective.

“As evil and wicked as the Federal Government of Nigeria and in their desperation to blackmail peaceful IPOB struggle, they have sponsored armed groups claiming to be IPOB who were paid to commit all manner of crimes in the Eastern Region so as to shop evidences to blackmail IPOB.

“We have in several press releases distance ourselves from those criminals being led by agent provocateur in Finland. Their actions and inactions has nothing to do with IPOB nor Mazi Nnamdi KANU. Some gullible IPOB's members who joined them were dismissed from the movement.

“In some cases Nigeria Security Agents were the ones killing the people while the Federal Government of Nigeria rush to the media to tag the killing on IPOB without carrying out any investigation.”

IPOB challenged the Federal Government of Nigeria and IEP to provide any verifiable evidence to back their claims that IPOB is involved in any kind of violence let alone, terrorism.

The group further said: “According to Noam Chomsky, ‘nobody is going to pour truth into your brain. It's something you have to find out yourself’. If IEP are interested in knowing the truth about Nigeria security and IPOB Movement, they should find it out themselves or use reliable organizations to verify their report before allowing the fantastically corrupt Nigeria Government to ridicule their reputation in the bid to blackmail the Indigenous People of Biafra.

“Some reputable organisations based in Nigeria such as Amnesty International and particularly a localized Civil Organisation such as International Society for Civil Liberties and Rule of Law (Intersociety) Onitsha, Nigeria can help them with variable evidences.

“In what seem to be the script of the Government of Nigeria, the names of Fulani Herdsmen which is the world 4th most deadly terrorist group was advertently removed from the 2022 Terrorism Index Report. Irrespective of numerous documented evidences of Fulani massacre across Nigeria including the most recent slaughter of more than 100 people in Aha Amufu Community in Biafra Land in early December of 2022. What a wonderful report from IEP?”

IPOB urged IEP to protect their earned reputation by sending an independent investigators rather than relying on their agents in Nigeria who are under the pocket of Nigeria Government for their report, saying that IPOB remains peaceful but resolute in the pursuit of Biafra liberation through UN supervised Referendum.

“We are not going to be distracted by sponsored blackmail and propaganda, not now and not tomorrow.

“We are here to tell our own stories to the world with facts and figures. We advise US Government to stand as a global Human Right Defenders to defend the right of every world citizen and not join the oppressors to abuse the rights and privileges of ordinary citizens,” the separatist group said.

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