By Luminous Jannamike
ABUJA – The Indigenous People of Biafra (IPOB) has accused the Federal Government of orchestrating the recent massacre of civilians in Mbano, Imo State, alleging it was a deliberate move to discredit the group and suppress the Biafra agitation.
In a statement, IPOB condemned the killings and demanded immediate justice for the victims.
The statement, signed by Emma Powerful, IPOB’s spokesperson and Director of Media and Publicity, accused Nigerian security agencies of hastily blaming IPOB and its Eastern Security Network (ESN) without any credible evidence or investigation.
Powerful described the accusations as part of a long-standing pattern of state-backed violence aimed at silencing the Biafra movement.
“This is a tired, manufactured narrative that now serves as a cover for state-sanctioned mass murder and political manipulation,” Powerful stated.
He further claimed that the killings were carried out by ‘faceless fifth columnists’ within the Nigerian security services whose aim, he said, is to criminalise IPOB and delegitimise the struggle for Biafra’s freedom.
The statement also linked the violence to recent developments in the legal battle for the release of IPOB leader, Mazi Nnamdi Kanu.
Powerful suggested that each advancement in Kanu’s case is followed by an upsurge in violence, allegedly orchestrated to derail progress and justify his continued detention.
“Each time the legal arguments for the release of our leader gain momentum, the Nigerian state resorts to violence and bloodshed in the Southeast.
“These killings are then cynically weaponized to discredit IPOB, divert public attention, and manufacture consent for continued illegal detention and persecution,” he said.
IPOB called on the international community to take notice of the killings and to hold the Nigerian state accountable for the ongoing violence.
“Let the world take note: the slaughter of the innocent in Igboland will never be forgotten. We hold the Nigerian state and its collaborators in the Southeast responsible,” the statement read.
The group challenged the Nigerian police to substantiate their claims with evidence in a court of law if they believe IPOB or ESN is responsible for the attack.
“We reject these false attributions, and we challenge the Nigerian police to present evidence in a court of law, not press statements, if indeed IPOB or ESN is culpable,” Powerful asserted.
The statement concluded with a vow to continue exposing what IPOB described as the ‘sham prosecution’ of its leader and the wider issues within Nigeria’s legal and judicial system.
“Every act of repression only strengthens our resolve. Every innocent life lost cries out for justice. And that justice will surely come,” Powerful declared.
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