Lai: We are taking steps to block IPOB’s funding

Lai Mohammed, minister of information, says the federal government is taking steps to block the source of funding of the Indigenous People of Biafra (IPOB).

The minister said this on Tuesday while speaking on ‘Good Morning Nigeria’, a live programme on the Nigeria Television Authority (NTA).

Mohammed said the government knew the countries supporting IPOB but that he was not at liberty to disclose the information.

He said IPOB had written letters “to many governments outside Nigeria, international parliaments sending fake and cloned videos claiming there is genocide in Nigeria”.

“We know the sources of their funding though I am not at liberty to disclose them here. Terrorists do not publish where their funding come from. But we know the countries that are supporting IPOB,” the minister said.

“We are taking steps to block them and we are also taking a lot of diplomatic actions in respect of the countries that are supporting them.”

The minister said the action of the military and the governors averted retaliation from other regions.

“There are a lot of arguments regarding the constitutionality of the action of the military and the south-east governors,” he said.

“People must realise that we are dealing with issue of national security and I do not think that the military and the governors should fold their arms while the country is set ablaze.

“I have heard a lot of comments as to whether the military has the right to declare IPOB a terrorist group. What the military has done is to catalogue all the activities of IPOB, which are not different from that of terrorists groups.

“IPOB activities are not jokes. If there have not been the proactive actions on the part of the military and the south-east governors, there would have been retaliation from other regions and the entire country will be set on fire.

“We cannot be talking of semantics or procedure when the nation is moving towards crises and precipices.

“It is only in a banana republic that you can see non-state actors doing what IPOB is doing. The actions by the military and the governors should be seen from the perspective of ensuring internal security and averting chaos.”