Military dislodgement of ESN camps in Okigwe, Isiukwuato falsehood- IPOB

By Cyprian Ebele, Onitsha 

The leadership of the Indigenous People of Biafra, IPOB, on Tuesday, debunked what it described as fallacious and fabricated propaganda peddled by the agents of the Nigerian government, alleging that they dislodged IPOB-ESN camp at Okigwe in Imo State and Isiukwuato in Abia State. 

The spokesperson of the group, Emma Powerful, said that “IPOB-ESN had severally disassociated ourselves from the so-called camps at Okigwe and Isukwuato, including Orsu, Orlu, and Orsumohu that the Nigerian Army and Nigerian Police always claimed to have dislodged IPOB-ESN Operatives from.

They noted that: The Nigerian Security Forces are much aware that the criminals operating those camps are their sponsored infiltrators claiming to be Liberation Army, yet the Nigerian  Army maliciously claim that those people are IPOB/ESN operatives. These criminals have no relationship with the IPOB movement nor ESN Operatives, but the Nigerian government keeps pushing the same wrong narrative against IPOB.

” In the first place, the objective of recruiting the criminals was to use them to infiltrate and destroy the genuine self-determination agitation championed by IPOB. However, the pressure from IPOB leadership and media warriors forced the infiltrators to abandon their false claim of being ESN to their real identity as infiltrators with the code name of Biafra Liberation Army. 

“IPOB demands that the Nigerian Government and the Nigerian Army and Police call those they attacked and dislodged by their names and leave IPOB and ESN alone. 

“These criminals were used in committing heinous crimes against Biafrans such as kidnapping for ransom, enforcement of false sit-at-home, car snatching, and assassination of persons just to blackmail IPOB movement.

“When these criminals refused to hand over their weapons, the Nigerian government declared war on them and started dislodging them from their camps. Instead of the Nigerian Security Agencies to call these criminals by their rightful name or names, they maliciously call them IPOB-ESN just to continue the propaganda and blackmail against genuine Biafra agitation led by IPOB and its leader Mazi Nnamdi Okwuchukwu Kanu.

“The Nigerian military cannot claim ignorance or not knowing the difference  between the  genuine IPOB-ESN and their sponsored criminals. However, desperation to damage the reputation of the hallowed image of IPOB is driving them to dish out frivolous propaganda and charges against us. 

“These State sponsored criminals are among the criminal elements that ESN Operatives are confronting in their efforts to keep Biafra land peaceful. ESN Operatives are not happy with the criminalities perpetrated by these infiltrator criminals recruited by the Nigerian government and DSS in order to demonize the IPOB movement and ESN Operatives. 

“The Nigerian government and her murderous security agencies must understand that Biafra agitation is still peaceful and can’t be provoked into violence or criminality. Since the formation of ESN in 2020, no operative of ESN has been killed for any involvement in criminal activities. 

“The Nigerian government and her security agencies should stop fueling insecurity in Biafra Land, particularly in the South East Region. IPOB and ESN will never be intimidated by the use of brutal force or media blackmail and propaganda. IPOB’s agitation for self-determination and a UNsupervised referendum are lawful.

” The Nigerian government should give Biafrans the chance to exercise their fundamental constitutional right via a referendum, and we will drop our agitation. Anything short of this demand is a waste of time and resources’ the group alleged..