The Indigenous People of Biafra (IPOB) has denied any knowledge of the purported hijacking of a merchant ship penultimate Friday by persons said to be demanding the release of detained leader of the group and Director of Radio Biafra, Nnamdi Kanu.
The group said the news was not only false but a feeble attempt to justify the continued detention of its leader and other IPOB detainees by the Federal Government and its agents.
In a Monday statement by its media and publicity officer, Emma Powerful, the group said it had uncovered plots to keep Kanu in detention indefinitely, saying that the story of the purported hijacking was one of such.
He said: “IPOB has uncovered another plan to continue to incarcerate our leader, Mr Nnamdi Kanu, and other detained IPOB members. The recent plot last week linked IPOB and other Biafra agitating groups to the alleged seizure and threat to blow up a merchant ship which the military has denied . This has made nonsense of the Buhari-led APC government allegation against IPOB as a lie and one coming from a deceitful and dishonest government.
“We found that accusation an insult and a plot to continue to incarcerate our leader Mr. Kanu who is still in high spirit, inspite of the wicked treatment, intimidation, harassment and denials to damper his spirit. We wonder why the government of APC will busy it self in hatching plans to nail innocent agitators.
“This shows the inconstistency for which the APC and its government is known for or why will anybody, group or government be linking IPOB with seizure of ship in another country? Are we living in the water, or do we carry arms? How can a government that claims to have saints in it be likening IPOB with hijacking of ship?” he said.
“It is shameful that a government that claims to be responsible should be involved in the highest level of indiscipline of disobeying court orders. We are not surprised because this is a government of the people that threatened to make Nigeria ungovernable when they lost election, and also threatened that baboons and their brothers will soak in blood if they did not win election. So, how can they respect the law now that they are in power? They have become so power-drunk and it will destroy them and their government.
“IPOB does not carry arms. Our leader is a refined, never say die, relentless, determined, focused, and unrepentant Biafra activist that is not interested in any government threat or inducement to drop the agitation of sovereign state of Biafra and no amount of blackmail will discourage him.”
Another pro-Biafra group, the Movement for the Actualisation of the Sovereign State of Biafra (MASSOB) had on Wednesday through its leader, Uchenna Madu, denied involvement in the purported hijacking.
Madu said: “You know that a lot of groups are springing up from the old Eastern Region to agitate for the actualization of the Sovereign State of Biafra and as far as they are fighting for Biafra, we cannot disown them, but they have their own style which I think the Federal Government of Nigeria understands easily. If you are not violent, they will not understand and they will ignore you. So, we support the group if that is what they have actually done.
“We in MASSOB are not involved in violence; that is why they do not take us seriously. They believe we are illiterate job seekers that are frustrated in life and decided to demand for Biafra. They think that our own is to demonstrate peacefully and they will shoot and kill us and go into jubilation that they have dealt with us, but now, they have seen their match. We support the people if they have actually done that.”