The government of President Muhammadu Buhari has accused the leader of the Indigenous People of Biafra, IPOB, Nnamdi Kanu, of masterminding the killing of 60 persons and the destruction of property in 55 violent attacks across the South-east and South-south Zones of Nigeria between January and April 2021.
A letter dated April 26, 2021, and sent to Western diplomats detailed the atrocities allegedly perpetrated by IPOB on the directives of its leader, Kanu from exile.
It deplored the justification of Kanu’s broadcasts and violent activities from Europe by some quarters in western countries under the guise of the group’s pursuit of self-determination, insisting that it was wrong for an unnamed Western nation to state that the separatist group formed the Eastern Security Network, ESN, to tackke insecurity in the South-east region.
It said the statement justified “the establishment of a militia by a non-state actor and glossing over the destructive and violent acts of IPOB and the ESN.”
”In under four months this year, IPOB has carried out over 55 violent acts in various parts of South-East Nigeria, killing scores of people and destroying many properties. Indeed, it would seem that the position of the (Western nation) seems to have further emboldened Nnamdi Kanu, the self-confessed leader of IPOB,” a foreign affairs demarche stated.
”As recently as April 22, 2021, broadcasting online from his base in London, Mr Kanu has issued series of instructions to his militia and other members of the outlawed organisation on acts of violence to be carried out within the territory of Nigeria.”
It noted that Kanu’s directives from Europe via Radio Biafra were responsible for IPOB’s intensified attacks on the select targets, adding that the position of the Western nation might have further emboldened Kanu and IPOB to intensify the attacks.
