The Indigenous People Of Biafra (IPOB) has said that it does not have camps in areas where the Nigerian Airforce (NAF) and the Joint Task Force (JTF) destroyed in Imo and Anambra State.
The Airforce on Wednesday conducted airstrikes, at Mother Valley Orsumughu, in Nnewi South Local Council of Anambra State, and at Aku Ihube, in Okigwe Local Council of Imo State where they destroyed camps.
According to NAF’s spokesman, Air Commodore Edward Gabkwet said the force acted on an intelligence report about plans by IPOB/ESN to disrupt activities in Anambra and other South Eastern states.
He said: “Acting on credible intelligence that IPOB/ESN members had perfected plans to disrupt civic activities in the coming days in Anambra and other states in South East from their concealed bunkers/hideouts at Mother Valley Orsumughu, air strikes were authorised in conjunction with ground troops, as well as other security agencies on the location believed to also house some of their weapons and ammunitions.”
Advertisement
However, the spokesperson of IPOB, Emma Powerful, said in a statement on Thursday said that the group has no camp in the said location and called on the Nigerian Airforce to stop lying.
He said: “We debunk the claims by the Nigerian Air Force of bombing IPOB’s ESN camps at Osumoghu in Nnewi South LGA of Anambra State and Osuihiteukwa in Orsu LGA, Imo State.
“We are bold to say that ESN does not have camps in any of the bombed locations.
“The Nigeria Air Force should stop lying and blackmailing this peaceful IPOB with the so-called bombing of IPOB’s ESN camps.
“For public information, IPOB doesn’t operate camps in those locations. IPOB has offices in Biafra Land and in the diaspora. We are not criminals or terrorists otherwise civilized countries would not give us the freedom to gather in their countries.
“What IPOB has is the Eastern Security Network (ESN), whose primary duty is to secure our bushes and protect our people. The general public should ignore and disregard the rants of the Nigeria DSS-sponsored criminal and agent provocateur in Finland called Simon Ekpa and his gangsters who are always impersonating ESN to demonize IPOB and Mazi Nnamdi KANU.
“The Nigeria Air Force must call those criminal camps they bombed by their names and not mention ESN or IPOB.
“As much as we detest the criminals impersonating IPOB and ESN in their violent activities in the name of the Biafra struggle, we nevertheless condemn the bombing of any part of Biafra Land by the Nigeria Air Force.
“If the Nigeria Air Force has functioning fighter jets to bomb criminal hideouts in the rainforest of the Southeast, why then have they not bombed terrorists and bandits who are in the open in the desert lands of the North?”