The Indigenous People of Biafra (IPOB) on Tuesday lamented the “incessant abduction, kidnapping and killing of innocent citizens of Imo State by hoodlums,” saying that its militant wing, Eastern Security Network (ESN) is not involved in “these dastardly acts and barbarity.”
Stating that IPOB constituted ESN “to safeguard and protect our mothers, wives and sisters from the Fulani terrorists masquerading as herdsmen in our territory, and they have not drifted from this responsibility,” the group noted that “the general public should understand that those behind the orgy of kidnapping and barbaric killings in Imo State have no link whatesover with the ESN inuagurated by our leader in December 2020.”
The secessionist group accused the Imo State Governor, Hope Uzodinma “and his co-travellers” of “unleashing mayhem on our people in their desperation to demonise ESN personnel and IPOB volunteers.
“We strongly condemn the cannibalism and atrocities of these criminals. The camp found at Nkwere and other places where they roasted human beings and kept kidnapped victims in the camp is not IPOB/ESN camp. We have nothing in common with agents of death, and we don’t engage in barbarities and cannibalism of sorts.
“We want the world to hold Hope Uzodinma and APC party responsible for what is happening Imo State because he and his government created them to attack ESN but unfortunately those criminals lost focus and started hitting Uzodimma’s subjects.
“What is happening in Imo State particularly in Orsuihiteukwa, Nnempi, Ibiasoegbe, Awo-Mmamma, Orlu, Oru East, Oru West, Nkwere and their environs including Orsumoghu and entire Ihiala LGA of Anambra State are the original plans of Hope Uzodinma to demonise Biafra agitators and ESN operatives and tag them as criminals but unfortunately his plan failed him. His boys have turned their weapons against his people! IPOB/ESN operatives don’t engage in raping and kidnapping. That’s not part of their mandate. They are out to defend them against Fulani terrorists and herdsmen.
“It also must be noted that IPOB/ESN don’t have any problem with traditional rulers in the region. Hope Uzodinma is looking for support and information about us, and if any traditional ruler failed to dance to his music he sent his boys to kill the traditional ruler the way he killed Alhaji Ahmed Gulark and tagged it IPOB volunteers ESN operatives. The traditional ruler of Ihube Okwigwe was killed by Hope Uzodinma’s boys and Ebubeagu security to implicate IPOB and ESN members. 99% of crimes happened and continue happening in Imo state is caused by Ebubeagu security outfit not ESN members.
“Ironically, Hope Uzodinma will arrange those arrested to claim that they are ESN members while they are not. We know our members and people don’t belong to ESN by proxy. The dead bodies exhumed including the bodies of the Traditional Ruler of Ihube and Youth leader of Okigwe and others were done by Ebubeagu and Uzodinma’s recruited boys.
“There are some critical questions for Hope Uzodinma to answer: Why will these killings and kidnapping be happening in Imo state under the watch of the military checkpoints almost at every pole, yet the perpetrators go undetected? Why is this barbarity happening this way only in Imo State? If but not admitting that ESN operatives were responsible for this barbarity, how come that ESN operatives in other states are not doing the same thing, if it isNnamdi Kanu’s order as the criminal in sinuated on the concocted video going viral on the compromised channels television?
“The investigations by IPOB M-branch in Imo state has it that the Gov. Hope Uzodinma in his desperation to implicate ESN and IPOB, conspired with the CP, the DSS Director and the Army Commander in IMO State to recruite some criminals from inside and outside the state to be killing our people so to implicate ESN and IPOB thereby using the opportunity to be collecting security money from Abuja and in the name of fighting ESN and IPOB, but they have failed woefully because IPOB volunteers ESN operatives are intact.
“IPOB M-Branch has it on good authority that Gov. Hope Uzodinma and his co-traitors created their own version of ESN that is killing innocent people including the traditional rulers that disagree with him in his evil plans against the youths of IMO state in order to implicate ESN members and IPOB volunteers.
“The question Nigerians should ask the Director of the DSS in IMO state according to the circulated video posted by Channels television where he cliamed that there was a shootout with the so called kidnappers and cannibals before capturing them at the camp in Orsuihiteukwa and Nkwere LGA: if there were truly a shootout and those youths shown in the video are the kidnappers and cannibals, how come there was no guns and ammunition captured from them in the video?
“If the group of youths as present in the video are the kidnappers and cannibals, how come there is none with gun shot wounds too? We urge them for posterity purpose to free the innocent youths and men arrested in the communities and neighbouring communities.
“Our attention has also been drawn to the concocted video circulating in social media claiming that our able leader Mazi Nnamdi Kanu instructed the criminals in that video to kill the innocent traditional rulers because of hard stand against Imo State administrator. We want to make it clear to humanity that our leader is a Prince and son of a renowned traditional ruler of Afarukwu kingdom and will never give such order against his fellow custodian and leader because it is a taboo in Igbo Biafra land for a traditional ruler to kill his fellow traditional ruler.
Beside, our leader Mazi Nnamdi Kanu has been in illegal detention in the custody of DSS in Abuja for months and since his extraordinary rendition and abduction from Kenya by the Nigeria government. So, how and where did he have discussion of Administrator Hope Uzodinma and his criminal gangs and get such order from him?
“The world must be put on notice that Administrator. Hope Uzodinma and his criminal gangs sponsored by Aso Rock are doing everything possible to implicate our leader Mazi Nnamdi Kanu so to have a reason to continue to keep him in illegal detention for as long as they want but they have failed and will continue to fail.”