The Buhari regime has called on the UK Government to seize assets belonging to the Indigenous People of Biafra (IPOB), those of its member...
The Buhari regime has called on the UK Government to seize
assets belonging to the Indigenous People of Biafra (IPOB), those of its
members in the United Kingdom and to also shut down the groups’ communication
department, specifically Radio Biafra.
Garba Shehu, Senior Special Assistant on Media and Publicity
to President Muhammadu Buhari, made this position known in a statement on
Friday in Abuja, while welcoming reports that the UK had designated IPOB a
terrorist organisation.
Downing Street has however walked back its view on IPOB
following widespread criticisms, denying that it has labelled the separatist
group terrorists, despite resolving to deny its members assylum or other forms
of succour.
Mr Shehu urged the UK authorities to follow up the alleged
proscription with confiscation of assets of IPOB members, shut down their
communication channels and sanction the issuance of visas to those funding IPOB
in Nigeria.
The statement read in part: “It has taken our allies in the
U.K. so long to follow suit owing to two reasons:
“First, the deep pockets of IPOB’s international network of
funders that allow for lawyers and influence peddlers to aggressively lobby for
and whitewash the activities of their client in Western courts.
“Second, IPOB’s influential communication network of TV and
radio stations – including London-based Radio Biafra – employed with great
effect to spread misinformation abroad and incite violence at home.
“The next steps are clear: now that IPOB has rightly been
designated a terrorist group, the UK authorities should, in our view, follow up
with confiscation of their assets, shut down their communication channels and
sanction the issuance of visas to IPOB’s funders in Nigeria.”
The statement said such sanctions had played a critical role
in combatting other terror groups.
“And make no mistake: today Africa is a breeding ground for
terror, with local and international groups alike gaining strength across the
continent, thriving on the economic devastation of the pandemic.
“Nigeria’s intelligence and security forces are the first
lines of defence against such groups, including ISIS and Al Qaeda affiliated
Boko Haram. We rely on our allies in the West for their support.
“IPOB’s – and its 50,000 strong paramilitary unit’s – reign
of terror has seen villages butchered, school buses set alight and politicians’
homes bombed,” the statement noted.
It added that through their international network of radio
and TV stations, they threatened further violence if their demands were not
met, while inciting violence and religious and ethnic tension between Nigeria’s
Christian and Muslim populations.
“Their mouthpieces and their wallets are their most
effective tools – it is these assets Nigeria’s allies must target next. And
there is no time for complacency.
“We thank the U.K. for its decisive action and call on our
friends in the U.S. to at last heed our calls and follow suit in designating
this murderous terror group as what it is.
“Across Africa, increasingly what were once small localised
groups are growing in size and influence and becoming connected to global
networks of terror.
“The free and democratic world must act now to stomp them
out before any more misery is caused,” the statement reads.
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