The Indigenous People of Biafra (IPOB) has strongly rejected President Bola Tinubu’s Independence Day address, describing it as “divisive, hate-filled, and deliberately misleading.”
During his speech on Wednesday morning, Tinubu praised Nigeria’s armed forces for their sacrifices in the fight against insecurity. He highlighted gains against Boko Haram in the North-East, banditry in the North-West, and what he described as “IPOB/ESN terror” in the South-East.
“We see their victories in their blood and sweat to stamp out Boko Haram terror in the North-East, IPOB/ESN terror in the South-East, and banditry and kidnapping,” the President said.
However, in a statement signed by its spokesperson, Emma Powerful, IPOB dismissed Tinubu’s remarks as false, stressing that the group, under the leadership of Nnamdi Kanu, is globally recognised as a peaceful self-determination movement.
“The attention of the Indigenous People of Biafra has been drawn to the divisive and hateful Independence Day address delivered by President Bola Ahmed Tinubu in which he recklessly and falsely lumped IPOB with Boko Haram, whilst exonerating ISWAP, Al-Qaeda in the Maghreb, and Lakaruwa,” the group stated.
According to IPOB, no court of law has ever linked it or its leader to terrorism, kidnapping, or killings. The group referenced a Federal High Court ruling in Abuja affirming that IPOB is not a terrorist organisation.
“An ex parte order cannot proscribe a mass movement of millions of people without an adversarial hearing. That so-called proscription was nothing but a worthless piece of paper, weaponised by successive regimes to unleash mayhem and extrajudicial killings on unarmed Biafrans,” IPOB maintained.
The separatist group also accused Tinubu’s administration of double standards, alleging that while violent attacks linked to armed herders were downplayed as “farmer-herder clashes,” peaceful protests by Igbo youths were criminalised.
“It is hypocritical and insulting for Tinubu to demonise IPOB while exonerating Fulani killer herdsmen who are daily terrorising citizens. This double standard exposes his deep-seated prejudice against the Igbo race,” the statement read.
IPOB further criticised South-East political elites, accusing them of weakness and complicity, while reiterating that it cannot be equated with extremist organisations.
“We state categorically that IPOB is not Boko Haram, not ISWAP, not Al-Qaeda. We are a people struggling for survival in the face of state-sponsored genocide. Our leader remains illegally detained in DSS custody despite multiple court rulings ordering his release,” the group added.
Calling on the international community to intervene, IPOB warned against what it described as attempts to criminalise the Igbo nation through “state propaganda.”
“The struggle for Biafra’s liberation is a just cause rooted in truth, justice, and international law. No amount of blackmail will erase that,” it declared.
