IPOB vows not to cede any part of South East to invaders

THE Indigenous People of Biafra ( IPOB) has said that it will not surrender any part of the South East region to invaders, despite the air attacks launched by the Nigerian military on Orlu Council in Imo State last week.

IPOB’S Media and Publicity Secretary, Emma Powerful, disclosed in a statement that the group was poised to defend Biafraland, insisting that the establishment of Eastern Security Network ( ESN) was for the protection of the people of the region and their farmlands against marauding herdsmen.

“We have no choice but to defend our ancestral land. We have complained enough, written petitions, but the world turned deaf ears. The media refused to give us audience. Nobody seems interested in our story. But like the Jews, we must look unto our God and courageously fight back like heroes. In the end Biafra will come,” Powerful said.

He alleged that scores of innocent persons had already fallen casualty since last Thursday when the military launched air strikes on Orlu in search of members of ESN, stressing that the only sin committed by the members of the group was to guard the region against killer herdsmen.

It was gathered yesterday that many residents had fled their homes following the air strikes of last Thursday with the town becoming a ghost area.

The air strike followed a clash a few days earlier between Nigerian soldiers and members of ESN, which reportedly left several casualties on both sides.

Meanwhile, International Solidarity for Peace and Human Rights Initiative ( ISPAHRI) has condemned the military invasion of Orlu, saying the action was bereft of any logical or moral reason and fail short of international standard of engagement with the civil population.

President of the group, Osmond Ugwu, told The Guardian that the action showed that the administration of President Muhammadu Buhari and All Progressive Congress ( APC) was highly biased in handling the problem of social conflicts in the country.