The Indigenous People of Biafra, IPOB, has dismissed claims by the former Abia State governor, Orji Uzor Kalu, that the activism of pro-Biafra agitator, Nnamdi Kanu led to the death of 30,000 individuals in the Southeast.
IPOB described Orji Uzor Kalu as a liar and a distracted individual for making such a remark.
Emma Powerful, the spokesman of the group, said the declaration arose from a malevolent spirit and a person who has chosen to barter his kin for selfish political gain.
A statement by Powerful said Kanu evidence has shown that Kanu has consistently been targets of military aggression, violence, and killings backed by the State.
The statement reads partly: “The worldwide family and movement of the Indigenous People of Biafra (IPOB) denounce the irresponsible and false claim from Senator Orji Uzor that 30,000 individuals lost their lives due to Mazi Nnamdi Kanu’s activism in the South East Region.
“IPOB is extremely upset and enraged by Orji Uzor’s false statements, as his assertions are entirely fabricated and part of a deliberate campaign to undermine IPOB and MNK.
“The insecurity, fatalities and devastation that occurred in the East were orchestrated by the Nigerian Government and certain Eastern Politicians to blackmail IPOB and ESN.
“The IPOB struggle has remained non-violent despite the Nigerian Government employing infamous Security Forces to arrest, torture, forcibly disappear, and carry out extrajudicial killings of numerous IPOB members.
“The evidence shows that IPOB and Mazi Nnamdi Kanu have consistently been targets of military aggression, violence, and killings backed by the State.
“The Nigerian Government and its corrupt politicians like Orji Uzor are as malicious as they come, accountable for all the insecurity, unidentified gunmen in the East, and the terrorists throughout the nation. IPOB has demanded impartial investigations into the violence and deaths occurring in the South East since 2015.
“Unfortunately, to this day, the disgraced Government and its infamous politicians have yet to permit an independent investigation.
“They are aware of the murderers. Just as the Northern elites are involved in the terrorist activities in the North, certain Eastern politicians, especially those in the APC Party, are complicit in the insecurity affecting the South East.
“It is regrettable that Orji Uzor Kalu was one of those who colluded with Tinubu’s Government to confine Mazi Nnamdi Kanu in isolation in Sokoto prison, allowing them to disseminate falsehoods about him and the IPOB he leads.
“It is clear to all and sundry that Dr. Orji Uzoh Kalu employed the feared Bakassi boys and slaughtered over 100,000 Igbo youths extrajudicially in Abia State and the South East Region while he was governor of Abia State.
“During Uzor Kalu’s tenure as Governor of Abia State for eight years remains an economic and security burden to this day.”