The Indigenous People of Biafra, on Wednesday, expressed their displeasure over the statement credited to the British High Commissioner to Nigeria, Mr. Paul Arkwright, over the unity of Nigeria.
The group described the envoy’s position that the United Kingdom would remain firm in its support for an indivisible Nigeria as unfortunate and distasteful.
According to the PUNCH, the High Commissioner was said to have made the statement at the Federal University, Lokoja, Kogi State, where he delivered a public lecture titled, “Brexit: Lessons, Challenges and Opportunities for Nigeria”.
Analyzing the envoy’s statement, IPOB spokespersons, Dr. Ikenna Chinaka, and Mrs. Grace Ukpai, said it was surprising that Arkwright could display ignorance of international law and protocol concerning the right of people self-determination.
They observed that the obvious limitations and inherent defects of the 1999 Nigerian Constitution notwithstanding, the sovereignty of states under international law was not cast in iron and could, therefore, be negotiated as was the case on the issue of the Bakassi Peninsula.
The press statement read in part, “The point IPOB is making is to the effect that, in the exercise of the sovereign powers bestowed on it, an artificial creation like the Nigerian state or, indeed, any other country, can limit its own sovereignty or surrender a part of same.”