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From Stanley Uzoaru, Owerri
The Indigenous People of Biafra (IPOB) has debunked claims that 150 members of the Eastern Security Network (ESN) were arrested by the police while attempting to flee from their base in the South East.
Spokesman of the group, Emma Powerful, while reiterating that their motive is against violence, maintained that the claim by the security agents was meant to blackmail its members.
He said: “We wish to debunk and refute the fallacious and fabricated statement from the Nigeria Police of the fake arrest of 150 members of ESN who were fleeing out of the Southeast region. The public should ignore the Nigeria police’s cooked up lies and blackmail against IPOB and ESN, as there were no ESN operatives arrested.
“IPOB-ESN has never engaged in any criminal activities besides their primary role of dislodging Fulani terrorists, nicknamed herdsmen, since its formation.”
Meanwhile, the pro Biafra group has also restated that they are not the ‘unknown gunmen’ terrorising the South East, emphasising that they have been agitating for Biafra for the past 10 years without violence.
Powerful said: “IPOB and ESN do not know who the unknown gunmen are, and we have several times disassociated ourselves from their activities. IPOB agitation has been peaceful for over 10 years with no trace of violence, irrespective of the Nigerian security’s brutality. But the activities of unknown gunmen in the East started about three years ago.
“The continuous linking of IPOB to unknown gunmen by the Nigerian government and her security agencies for years without facts to substantiate it is evidence that their cheap blackmail is ineffective.
“Against the latest propaganda from the Nigeria Police, we state that all IPOB and ESN operatives are intact. Non has moved away from their location. We are not and cannot involve ourselves in any activity that would heighten the insecurity situation in our region.
“Anytime the Nigeria police arrest criminals, they force them to confess being members of IPOB or ESN, and the same suspect will never be brought to court for legal interrogations. The public should ignore Nigeria police’s cheap blackmail. There is nothing like 150 IPOB or ESN members chased away or arrested. IPOB and ESN formations are intact more than before.
“We have strategically organised ourselves to stop the insecurity ravaging our land. We cannot allow both ordinary and sponsored criminals to make our territory unattractive for investment or retirement for indigenes,” Powerful stated.
