You can’t crush us, IPOB hits back at FG

The Indigenous People of Biafra (IPOB) says Nigeria will go down in history as the only country to proscribe a “peaceful organisation”.

After the military declared it a terrorist organisation, a federal high court in Abuja upheld the declaration.

But the group kicked against the terrorism tag, saying the federal government can testify that “crushing IPOB is not possible in this life”.

The group accused Abdul Kafarati, the judge who gave the order, of compromise.

It also said by granting the “obnoxious” order, the judge has “placed his judicial reputation on the line by openly siding with evil”.

IPOB said its rallies are the most peaceful “with no recorded incident or fracas or lawlessness”, adding that “we have not killed anyone”.

“We must continue to ask what evidence led Justice Kafarati to bow to blackmail and pressure from DSS and Aso Rock to grant this order when the very brave Justice Binta Nyako ruled in the same high court sitting in Abuja that IPOB is not an illegal organisation,” a statement issued by Emma Powerful, its spokesman, read.

“We are not terrorists and can never be because our struggle for Biafra self-determination is our undeniable right under United Nations and African Charter which Nigeria is a signatory to.

“With this development (the court order), the world can now clearly see there is something fundamentally wrong with the Nigerian psyche and its propensity to reward evil and punish good. Nigeria will go down in history as the only country on earth to proscribe a peaceful organisation whilst blood thirsty violent marauders are given financial inducements to stop killing their innocent victims.

“Years of enduring blackmail, threats and humiliation of judges by this Buhari’s regime is beginning to pay off. We dread to think of what might have become of the few brave judges like Justice Binta Nyako who stood their ground to deliver sensible judgment even under the threat of imprisonment and demotion.

“Nigerians should wonder how the civilised worldview them and their government officials today, including the judiciary, which have proven themselves to be the most corrupt and morally bankrupt nation on earth.”

IPOB said calling its members terrorists is similar to blacklisting the whole indigenous people living in Biafraland.

The group accused the federal government of lies and paid media attacks against it “in an effort to limit the damage they have inflicted on themselves”.

“They have seen the handwriting on the wall,” it added.

“Despite billions of dollars of crude oil money from Biafraland, total control of the instruments of coercion, media and propaganda machinery at their disposal, IPOB remains stronger than ever before. Nigerian government are the ones looking for an escape route out of the mess they plunged themselves into.

“A government that failed woefully in over two years to prove its case against IPOB in their own courts, what makes them feel they can defeat IPOB in the court of global public opinion. Biafrans must remain strong because our freedom is inevitable.”