THE Federal Government, yesterday, disagreed with the United States of America on the status of the Indigenous People of Biafra, IPOB. It described as “unfortunate” and “unacceptable” the position of the US government over Nigeria’s declaration of the organisation as a terrorist group.
The Federal Government had earlier been ensnared in a face-off with France over funding of IPOB and the United Kingdom, over the operation of Radio Biafra. Minister of Information and Culture, Alhaji Lai Mohammed, faulted the US position, Wednesday night in London, when he featured on BBC Television programme, “Focus on Africa.”
On why the Federal Government labelled IPOB a terrorist group, the Information Minister said: “The acts and utterances of IPOB were acts and utterances of terrorists. For instance, Nnamdi Kanu, the IPOB leader was caught on tape saying that they want Biafra and not peacefully, but by force. “He declared that if they do not get Biafra, Somalia will be a paradise with the kind of mayhem they will unleash on Nigeria.
The group openly embraced arms and ammunition and the leader set up Biafra National Guard, Biafra Secret Service and openly attacked army formations.” Asked by the anchor of the programme, Peter Okwoche, why “other militarised groups” like the Fulani herdsmen had not been classified as terrorist group, Mohammed said that “acts of criminality should not be confused with terrorism acts.” He explained further: “When an organisation decides to not just attack the Army but set up its own parallel government; when an organisation openly solicits for arms all over the world; when an organisation starts issuing out its own passports and currency and does not recognise the democratically elected government, then it becomes a different thing.”
The minister said Nigeria was so fragile, adding that an attempt to allow such excesses from IPOB to continue could attract reprisal attacks from other parts of the country and set the entire nation on fire.
President-General of the Ohanaeze Ndigbo, Chief John Nwodo, who was earlier interviewed on the programme, said labelling IPOB as a terrorist group was “extremely unfair and lopsided.”