IPOB Features In Buhari’s First Tweets After 335-Day Break From Twitter

President Muhammadu Buhari, on Monday, returned to Twitter exactly 10 months, 3 weeks, and 6 days after the Nigerian Government shut down the social media platform in the country following the company’s deletion of the president’s tweets threatening secessionist groups in the South East.

Buhari’s first tweets after the long break contained his Eid-el-Fitr message to Muslim faithful in the country who had just concluded the 2022 Ramadan fast.

Advertisement

The president had stayed away from Twitter since June 1, 2021 after Twitter deleted some of his tweets and temporarily suspended his account for threatening a potential repeat of the 1967 Biafran Civil War if the Indeginous People of Biafra (IPOB) should continue with its alleged insurrection in the South East.

In apparent response to Twitter’s move against the president, the Nigerian Government had banned the microblogging platform in the country, claiming that it was being used to spread “misinformation and fake news” which it said were “capable of undermining Nigeria’s corporate existence”.

The government lifted the ban in January 2022 after getting Twitter to agree to register as a legal business in the country and pay an “applicable tax”.

In his first tweets since the ban, President Buhari talked tough against IPOB’s activities including how his administration was tackling the secessionist group.

Advertisement

“In response to the disturbing rise in criminal attacks targeting law enforcement and public facilities in the South East, concerted military operations to rid the region of Indigenous People of Biafra (IPOB) and Eastern Security Network (ESN) elements have, in recent weeks, led to the overrunning of IPOB/ESN bases, the seizure of weapons and the arrest of a large number of suspects.

“I have recently approved the establishment of a Naval Base in Oguta, Imo State, among other interventions to strengthen the security of lives, property and critical national infrastructure in the region,” he said.

Buhari also spoke about the activities of Boko Haram and bandits in the North, saying: “Final victory is within sight. Boko Haram and its offshoots’ final embers (sic) are now fading.

“Last month, the leader of ISWAP was killed in an airstrike. Since the New Year, thousands of fighters have surrendered.

“The territories they used to occupy are now seeing the return of those who were forced to flee their barbarity. Normality is finally beginning to return to the Northeast. It is a long process. Yet it is one we are, together, now embarking upon.

Advertisement

“With the designation of bandit groups as terrorists, the challenges of banditry & kidnapping are being tackled differently in the North-West and North-Central where the latest military acquisitions and Armed Forces are being fanned out across the region to thwart acts of terror.

He added, “The administration is equally getting impressive reports of the special operations to curb crude oil theft and illegal oil bunkering in the South-South, with millions of illegally refined products being impounded and illegal refineries destroyed.

“While we are making progress cleaning the environment, some evil people are busy causing more pollution and destruction.

“The reinvigoration of the war against drug abuse and illicit drug trafficking is also showing positive results as shown by the arrest of over 12,300 offenders including seven drug barons; the conviction of 1,400, counseling and rehabilitation of about 8,000 drug users.

“The seizure of over 3.4 million kilograms of drugs and cash worth over N130 billion, all in 2021 has been recorded while the first Quarter of this year has seen the arrest of no fewer than 3,536 offenders including security personnel and a well-known billionaire drug baron.

“On my part I will continue to ensure that there is no shortage of funds to provide security for the citizens of Nigeria.”

Leave a comment

Advertisement