Again, President Buhari Asks US, Other Western Allies To Designate IPOB As Terrorist Group
President Muhammadu Buhari has renewed his appeal for the Indigenous People of Biafra (IPOB) to be designated as a terrorist organization by western partners.
This was revealed in Buhari’s written reply to queries from Bloomberg News.
The president accused IPOB of vandalism against pipelines and infrastructure.
“Criminality and terrorism in oil-producing regions hamper production, and it would help if our western allies designated IPOB as a terrorist group, given their complicity in damage to pipelines and infrastructure,” he said.
“We have invested in our security forces, including the $1 billion military deal with the U.S. for the acquisition of A-29 Super Tucano aircraft.
“These efforts are making an impact: wells that had to be closed due to criminality have now re-opened. With these efforts, OPEC has raised our quota for next month.
“We urge those same international partners to take additional steps costing them nothing, by proscribing another group – IPOB – as a terrorist organisation.
“Their leadership enjoys haven in the West, broadcasting hate speech into Nigeria from London, spending millions lobbying members of the US Congress, and freely using international financial networks to arm agitators on the ground. This must stop.”
In 2017, the Nigerian government proscribed IPOB, designating it a terrorist organisation.
In recent times, the proscribed group has been accused of perpetrating violent attacks in the South-East in order to achieve its secession agenda but IPOB has repeatedly denied being behind the attacks.
