IPOB denies killing policemen in Imo restaurant

Proscribed Igbo separatist group, Indigenous People of Biafra (IPOB), has denied the killing of some police officers who were reportedly gunned down in a restaurant at the Ngor Okpala Local Government Area of Imo State.

The Biafran group was responding to allegations that its members were responsible for the killing of five policemen by gunmen on April 21 at a restaurant at Okpala Junction, in the Ngor Okpala council of the state.

The policemen were reportedly killed alongside the owner of a shop, identified as Mr and Mrs Nwagu.

But IPOB in a statement of denial issued by its Media and Publicity Secretary, Emma Powerful on Monday, said the shooting was carried out by some criminal elements and such acts are alien to the group, and urged security agencies to stop associating IPOB with the killings in the South-East.

“IPOB is a peaceful movement seeking separation from the Nigeria state through internationally-recognised and accepted modus operandi called
self-determination and not through murderous or criminal activities,” Powerful said.

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“We seek to create a calm and peaceful environment for everyone in our territory to safely dwell and for our people to come home and be part of the development of Biafraland. It is not and has never been part of our objective to scare or kill innocent citizens of the area.

“Even though Nigerian security agents have been brutal to us, we have always maintained our calm. For now, those security men are no hinderance to our freedom, though they are agents of oppression.

“It is public knowledge that the Federal Government is using both state actors and non-state actors to create insecurity and chaos in the South-East just to blackmail IPOB through some compromised media agencies and agents.

“These state actors and non-state actors sponsored by terrorists herdsmen kill, kidnap, and destroy homes, while the Federal Government uses some compromised media to attribute their criminal activities to IPOB without any investigation. We have always exposed their blackmail to the world and have always been vindicated.

“The paid criminals in the South-East should stop and allow Biafra agitation to flow naturally according to plans. We are warning them to stay off Biafraland or face the consequences. They have already been declared wanted by IPOB, and their sins will catch up with them soon,” the statement said.

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