The Indigenous People of Biafra (IPOB) has dismissed the recently concluded South-East Security Summit in Aba, describing it as a diversionary exercise aimed at justifying the continued detention of its leader, Nnamdi Kanu, while failing to address what the group called the real causes of insecurity in the region.
In a statement issued on Friday by its spokesperson and Media and Publicity Secretary, Emma Powerful, IPOB alleged that the summit was designed to shift public attention away from the actions of security agencies and political leaders in the South-East.
According to the group, the South-East remains largely peaceful, insisting that narratives portraying the region as being engulfed by insecurity are being used to support the continued detention of Kanu.
IPOB further alleged that the insecurity witnessed in parts of the South-East was deliberately created after Kanu’s arrest and subsequent detention, claiming it was intended to justify legal actions taken against him.
The group also questioned the 2017 proscription of IPOB, arguing that it had been carrying out what it described as peaceful agitation for self-determination before being declared a terrorist organisation by the Nigerian government.
In the statement, IPOB criticised the South-East governors and the Federal Government over past military operations in the region, including Operations Python Dance I and II, alleging that they targeted unarmed civilians rather than criminal elements.
The organisation further accused security forces of involvement in the destruction of Ekeututu Market in Imo State and alleged that attacks on communities in parts of the South-East had not received adequate attention from authorities.
IPOB also raised concerns over attacks allegedly carried out by armed herders in some communities, claiming the issue was ignored during the security summit.
The group maintained that the Eastern Security Network (ESN), its security outfit, was established to protect communities from criminal attacks and insisted that it has played a role in safeguarding parts of the region. Nigerian authorities, however, have consistently designated ESN as an unlawful armed group.
Calling on the international community and human rights organisations, IPOB urged them to focus on what it described as unresolved issues affecting the South-East, including Kanu’s continued detention, the presence of security forces in the region and attacks on local communities.
The group reiterated its demand for the unconditional release of Kanu and called for the demilitarisation of the South-East, maintaining that addressing those issues would contribute more to peace than security summits.
The Federal Government has repeatedly maintained that security operations in the South-East are aimed at combating criminality and protecting lives and property, while court proceedings relating to Kanu’s case continue. The government has also consistently denied allegations of deliberately creating insecurity in the region.
