Indigenous People of Biafra (IPOB), on Monday said President Muhammadu Buhari and the five governors of the south eastern states were working hard to criminalize it despite its non-violent stand.
In a press release signed by Emma Powerful, media and publicity secretary of the group, he said the Buhari administration and the five governors were worried that despite the brazen provocation and attack against its leader and members, the group had remained non-violent.
It said that President Buhari should be blamed if the group decided to shed its non-violent stand and take to arms as it has been pushed beyond limit.
“It was the Nigerian government and her security operatives that brought violence into the Biafra agitation not IPOB. Should IPOB decide to engage in armed struggle at a future date, the world must hold the government of Buhari, Igbo governors and Ohanaeze Ndigbo responsible.
“We always held peaceful rallies and protests all around major cities across Biafraland without any violent incident or objection from the masses, but they decided to tag us terrorists in order to justify the violent crackdown on innocent Biafran populations. Our happiness is that today the world can see that IPOB is innocent and have totally vindicated us,” he said.
The group which referred to the governors and the leadership of Ohaneze Ndigbo as political contractors said they were envious of IPOB’s popularity and the demonstrable feat it had achieved in the struggle.