President Muhammadu Buhari in a statement on Wednesday revealed the motives behind the arrest of the leader of IPOB, Nnamdi Kanu and the attempted arrest of South West activist, Sunday Igboho, citing that IPOB has been financed by illegal operations. He also accused Igboho of “conducting acts of terror.”
The president disclosed this in a statement on Wednesday evening, praising the efforts of Nigerian security operatives saying they executed with great synchronization arrests of individuals who had inflicted pain and hardships on fellow citizens.
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What Buhari said
- The subversive leader of the proscribed Indigenous People of Biafra (IPOB), a group known for its murderous actions and virulent messaging was detained as a result of cross-border cooperation. This international operation was executed in a closely coordinated fashion following which he was handed over to our National Intelligence Agency and then returned to Nigeria to face the Law.
- The violence inspired by IPOB has led to hundreds of fatalities, particularly targeted at Government assets and Law Enforcement Agents. Additionally, there have been at last count, fifty (55) separate violent attacks, heavily concentrated in the South-East, which heaped further hardship on our honest and hardworking citizens.
- The Government had long been monitoring the activities of IPOB and had strong cause to believe that their funding sources include proceeds of suspected illicit criminal activities.
READ: Timeline of Nnamdi Kanu’s issues with the FG
On Sunday Igboho, President Buhari praised Nigerian security forces for raiding “the residence of a militant ethnic Secessionist, who has also been conducting acts of terror and disturbing the peace under the guise of protecting fellow kinsmen.”
Buhari said his orders to Security Services regarding anyone seen to be carrying arms, particularly AK-47, are clear and require no further illumination. Assault weapons are not tools of peace-loving people and as such, regardless of who they are and where they are from, the security agencies should treat them all the same.
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What you should know
Minister of Information, Lai Mohammed said the founder of the Indigenous People of Biafra (IPOB), will be charged with 11 charge counts of treason, treasonable felony, terrorism and illegal possession of firearms, among others.
Meanwhile, the DSS revealed it arrested 13 suspects when it raided the Ibadan residence of Mr Sunday Igboho, claiming they received information he had stockpiled weapons in his home and came under fire when they arrived at his home.
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