The Indigenous People of Biafra (IPOB) has accused nigerian army of intimidating their leader Mazi Nnamdi Kanu from attending the funeral of his parents scheduled to hold Feb 14 in Isiama Afaraukwu, Umuahia, Abia State.
In the statement released by Emma Powerful, IPOB spokesman, he lambasted the army for allegedly playing the role of terrorists it claims to be fighting.
He likened the military officers to insurgents who invade homes in the southeast without authorization and terrorize local indigenes.
“The soldiers of the Nigerian Army are lazy and only specializes in terrorizing innocent civilians while recruiting hardened terrorists into their ranks, while unmitigated lawlessness rage across Nigeria.”
However, the Biafra group has vowed that the funeral will take place with or without the approval of the government.
“One thing is certain to come 14 February 2020, the parents of our leader will be laid to rest. APC regime, Nigerian Army and their badly informed supporters cannot stop IPOB from restoring the sovereign state of Biafra within the shortest possible time by the grace of God.
Read the full statement
“We continue to draw the attention of the civilised world to the incessant harassment, humiliation and intimidation of Afaraukwu community in Umuahia-Ibeku by the very lazy and shameless soldiers of the Nigerian Army, whose stock in trade is to terrorise innocent civilians while recruiting hardened terrorists into their ranks as unmitigated lawlessness rage across Nigeria.
“In the history of world military, the brazen and cowardly display of military might in Isiama Afaraukwu by Nigerian Army, as Boko Haram and other Fulani sponsored terror groups wreak havoc on defenceless citizens is confirmation that Buratai and his men are not true soldiers, but mere terrorists with constitutional backing.
“Real soldiers fight wars not terrorising innocent civilians preparing for the burial ceremony. If they do not already know this, let the hierarchy of the Nigerian military know they are the laughing stock of the world.
“An army roundly defeated in the battlefield, its officers pursued, captured and beheaded by a band of ill-equipped combatants, but take pride in showcasing its intimidatory might in peaceful enclaves is the height of an army of cowards devoid of ideas.
‘What Buratai and his soldiers are doing in Umuahia is no different from what terrorists are doing in the North East of Nigeria. They invade peaceful communities, killing, pillaging, destroying and kidnapping people at will.
“The same template Boko Haram and other Fulani sponsored murder squads are operating within the North East is exactly what the Nigerian Army is doing in the South East. The Nigerian Army fled the battlefields of the North East and abandoned their constitutional duty to fight armed insurgency, but instead turned their armoured tanks and troops on Afaraukwu community preparing for a burial ceremony.”
“The Nigerian Army is wasting their time and valuable resources in trying to stop something they know they are incapable of stopping. Burial of the dead is a right older than man itself.
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“Nigeria government and her soldiers are shameless and downright disgraceful, their refusal to confront armed Fulani insurgency and Boko Haram menace in the North East, but instead chose to focus their attention on a burial ceremony in Afaraukwu is indicative of the misplaced priorities at the heart of this All Progressives Congress, APC regime, which has directly led to the deterioration of security situation across Nigeria.
It defies both common sense and logic that Nigerian soldiers went AWOL in terror ravaged areas of the north, they refused to battle bandits and terror groups they themselves sponsored, but are busy killing and terrorizing innocent and unarmed individuals in the South East.
“Boko Haram, Fulani herdsmen, Miyetti Allah Bandits, ISIS in West Africa, Al-Queda in the Maghreb are dutifully waiting for Buratai and his warriors to engage them in battle in the north; that is the real security problem facing Nigeria not the burial of His Royal Majesty Eze Israel Okwu Kanu and his wife Sally.
“How can the government of Nigeria justify the deployment of soldiers to the venue of a funeral while terrorists are busy making the lives of law-abiding citizens a misery.
“We are reminding the APC government in Aso Rock and their cowardly soldiers to return to the North East to fight Boko Haram terrorists and leave IPOB and Afaraukwu community alone. Nigeria soldiers and their supporters must be ashamed of themselves.
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