Govt, police hierarchy, not IPOB, responsible for officers’ murder in Imo – Powerful

By Ihechukwu Sunday

The Indigenous People of Biafra (IPOB) has dismissed as fabricated and false, the statements credited to the Nigeria Police accusing IPOB of being responsible for the recent killing of some policemen at Ahiazu Mbaise in Imo State.
A statement by the IPOB’s spokesman, Emma Powerful, a copy of which was made available to the Daily Sun alleged that the government and the police leadership were behind the murder of the innocent police men.
Powerful alleged that a few hours after the attack, IPOB was linked to it without any investigation, insisting that the IPOB had earlier raised the alarm about the government’s plan to renew attacks in the Southeast as the Supreme Court judgement of their leader, Mazi Nnamdi Kanu approached.

“The public should go back to the IPOB press release of November 24, 2023. There, we mentioned that the Nigeria government will commence violent attacks in the East using their proxy in Finland to blackmail Mazi Nnamdi Kanu and to put pressure on the Supreme Court Justices not to release him on December 15, 2023.
Part of the statement read: “Recall that during the same period, the Nigeria Army falsely claimed that Simon Ekpa is an IPOB leader. In the same week, Simon Ekpa threatened to violently expel Nigeria security forces from the Southeast starting this week. How come then that the Nigeria police in Imo State accused IPOB of being responsible for the attack and murder of policemen in Mbaise? Is it not obvious that the Nigeria government and the authorities in Nigeria Army, the Nigeria Police, and DSS are working together with their proxy in Finland to murder and sacrifice some Security men in order to blackmail and thwart the release of Mazi Nnamdi Kanu during the upcoming Supreme Court judgement?

“It is obvious that the Nigeria police and military are sacrificing the lives of their service men and women just to blackmail the IPOB, the same way they sacrificed the lives of many Nigerian soldiers to Boko Haram in the North to create increased insecurity.
“Neither the Imo State Governor, Hope Uzodinma, nor the Police Commissioner in Imo State will claim to be ignorant or innocent of these evil plans.

“In order to cover their collusion, the Nigeria police in Imo State quickly arrested innocent people at Mbaise to be used as scapegoats. Arresting innocent people, labeling them IPOB, and forcing them to claim responsibility for the murder of innocent policemen will not hold water. If the Nigeria police want to prove to the world that those they arrested, indeed, committed the crime, they should arraign them before the court for prosecution. Every blackmail against IPOB ends in the media with no investigations. We call on the Nigeria Police to release innocent people they arrested at Mbaise and go after their proxy criminals who are not hiding their criminal activities.
No genuine IPOB member will succumb to the point of working against the release of our leader. Neither will they do anything inimical towards the release of Mazi Nnamdi Kanu.

“The release of Mazi Kanu is the priority of every IPOB member. This is why all eyes are on the ball against all provocations. Those involving themselves in violence and criminal activities are not IPOB members but government agents. Our minds are focused on the release of our leader, Mazi Kanu, who has not committed any crime known to law both locally and internationally.
“IPOB condemned the barbaric murder of the DPO of Ahiazu Mbaise Division in Imo State and his colleagues. IPOB led by Mazi Nnamdi Kanu has no hands in the murder and will not be involved in murderous activities anywhere.
“We blame the police hierarchy for conniving with the Federal Government to sacrifice some of their gallant men in order to blackmail Mazi Kanu and IPOB. Nigerian policemen and soldiers should hold their leaders responsible for making them sacrificial lambs while billions of Naira are being looted.”