Jeff Amechi Agbodo, Onitsha

The Indigenous People of Biafra (IPOB) yesterday debunked claims that a splinter group has emerged from its fold.

The group alleged that the claims emanated from the Department of State Services (DSS), the Abia State Governor, Okezie Ikpeazu and the leadership of Ohanaeze Ndigbo to confuse the public and sow the seed of doubt in the minds of IPOB faithful.  

The Media and Publicity Secretary of IPOB, Emma Powerful, in a statement noted that nobody bears the name Okwudili Ezenachukwu, the leader of the splinter group, as allegedly claimed by DSS, Ikpeazu and President General of Ohanaeze Ndigbo, Chief Nnia Nwodo.

Powerful described the claim as “a total fabrication of the corrupt Igbo political class that exists only on DSS computer hard drive and Okezie Ikpeazu’s imagination.”

  He said: “There is no better way for them to start than through creating a false impression that Kanu misled them, thereby creating an opening in the minds of the gullible to introduce this fraud they called  ‘Okwudili’ to falsely, forcefully and fictitiously assume the sacred mantle of leadership of the most noble IPOB. Some people with the help of their masters from the North want to perpetually enslave all of us. They are doing their level best with lies, innuendos and fabrications to weaken and divide IPOB hence the ruse about factionalisation of IPOB, which they themselves know is impossible.

“To their shock and dismay, these people along with the DSS have realised that IPOB is structured in such a way that it is virtually unbreakable. If they like, let them saturate the media space in Nigeria with their lies against our leader and the great IPOB; they can and will never slow down our pace talk-less of dividing us. They exist and operate in Nigeria whereas IPOB have recognisable footprints in over 100 countries and territories around the world.”

Powerful added: “The issue of ‘Okwudili’ and factionalisation of IPOB is fake news that respectable media houses should not have anything to do with because by ventilating this blatant falsehood, the media in Nigeria is unwittingly promoting the propagation of fake news. Anybody writing with any degree of authority as to the existence of this non-existent ‘Okwudili’ is directly or indirectly promoting the dissemination of fake news and is involved in the misinformation of the public.”

   “The truth of the matter remains that some people were recently indicted by a U.S. court for their role in the murder of innocent IPOB family members in Abia State.

“Nigerian government out of desperation to divert attention away from relentless criticisms of their role in the massacre of indigenes of Abia State in cold blood and invasion of the home of our leader, Mazi Nnamdi Kanu, which Ikpeazu and Nwodo played a major role, quickly decided to use the newly launched BBC Igbo Service and national newspapers to launch what they thought would be a decisive counter attack to neutralise the adverse publicity their actions were generating,” he explained.