The Indigenous People of Biafra (IPOB) has drawn attention to what it described as “a dangerous lie that has been carefully constructed to justify the continued detention and conviction of our leader”.

The separatist group declared that the charge of insecurity in the South East for which Justice James Omotosho handed leader, Mazi Nnamdi Kanu, life sentence falls under intense scrutiny, arguing that the insecurity was orchestrated by politicians who felt threatened by growing popularity of Kanu.

IPOB noted in a statement issued by its Media and Publicity Secretary, Comrade Emma Powerful, that, “Immediately after the extraordinary rendition of Mazi Nnamdi Kanu in June 2021, desperate political actors—many of whom have long envied his influence—unleashed violence and chaos across the South-East.

Their aim was simple and wicked: create insecurity and blame it on Mazi Nnamdi Kanu, so they could later claim they were right to abduct, detain, and jail him.

“These are the same people who rushed to proscribe IPOB, after Ekwulobia and Aba mega rallies in mid-2017, where millions trooped out just to catch a glimpse of our leader, even though the Abuja Federal High Court had earlier in March 2017 ruled that IPOB is not a terrorist organisation. In plain terms.”