The Indigenous People of Biafra, IPOB, has accused the Nigerian security agents of planting Improvised Explosive Devices, IEDs, across the Southeast in order to kill innocent residents of the region.
Emma Powerful, media and publicity secretary of IPOB in a statement on Wednesday said that the IEDs were planted to implicate its members and its militia arm, the Eastern Security Network, ESN.
Powerful who was reacting to a statement by the Nigerian Army and Police that IPOB and ESN planted IEDs in Awo-Mmamma, Oru East Local Government Area of Imo State said the claim by the Army and police that they thwarted IPOB and ESN attacks using IEDs were false because the explosives are not from the separatist group.
The statement read in part: “The attention of the global family of the Indigenous People of Biafra (IPOB) ably led by our great liberator and prophet, Mazi Nnamdi KANU, has been drawn to the fallacious and laughable, statement from the Nigeria Army and Police, claiming that IPOB/ESN operatives planted IED in Awo-Mmamma and its nearby community, Mgbidi in Oru East of Imo State.
“The purported statement and false propaganda that troops thwarted IPOB/ESN attacks on two Imo communities and uncovered IEDs should be disregarded. This is another desperate but futile attempt by the Nigerian security agencies to implicate IPOB and ESN operatives. It, however, did not come to us as a surprise because it has been their stock in trade. This is another blatant falsehood.
“For the records, IPOB and ESN operatives never planted, and have no plans to plant IEDs in any part of Biafra land. ESN since its inauguration by our leader Mazi Nnamdi KANU in December last year has never engaged in any terrorist activity. Its mandate has not changed: protection of our ancestral land against Fulani herdsmen and bandits attacks.
“It’s only ridiculous for the security agencies to try to link IPOB or ESN with the planting of IEDs, when in fact Nigerians know who those who plant IEDs are. Planting explosives is the signature tune of the Fulani terrorists and bandits.
“Assuming but not in any way admitting this idiotic trash, if we should resort to the planting of IEDs, who do we want to kill? What do we want to achieve? How can we be stupid to begin to plant bombs that will kill our people whom we are staking our lives daily to protect and defend against Fulani terrorists?
“To further punctuate their lies, how come these shameless liars claiming to be security agents are only swift in discovering IEDs purportedly planted by IPOB and ESN but fail to detect the same IEDs planted by Fulani bandits and terrorists which have claimed thousands of lives in the North including security operatives themselves although mainly from Southern Nigeria?
“It is now clear that these terrorists in military and police uniforms are working in cahoot with their rag-tag counterparts in the forests to achieve the same agenda. While they keep betraying Southern troops serving in the North, these jihadists and terrorists in security uniforms deployed to Biafra land are now busy planting IEDs in their desperation to implicate IPOB and ESN.”
