IPOB Berates Lai Mohammed over Amnesty for Bandits

IPOB Berates Lai Mohammed over Amnesty for Bandits.

The Indigenous People of Biafra, IPOB, has called out the Minister of Information, Lai Mohammed for justifying the proscription of IPOB, while amnesty is granted to bandits and terrorists.

The group in a statement on Thursday described the minister’s statement as disgraceful.

The spokesperson of the group, Emma Powerful, while speaking with SaharaReporters said the Minister should be ashamed of himself for making such utterances.

Recall that the Minister said bandits cannot be proscribed in Nigeria because they do not have any identity or name they identify with as a group.

He said, “You proscribe known groups with names. You can’t just proscribe an unknown group legally. Secondly, it’s not whether they are proscribed or not, it is the way they are treated. Does the government actually treat them with kid gloves? The answer is no.”

Speaking on the proscription of IPOB by the Nigerian government, Mohammed pointed out that there is a difference between the bandits and the group, noting that “When a group is championing a course for the disintegration of Nigeria… A group like IPOB (that) does not even recognize Nigeria as a state, sets up its own army and thinks it is a sovereign state, is different from bandits and criminals. Please, don’t compare apples and oranges.”

But when asked if the bandits do not also threaten the sovereignty of Nigeria by taking up arms against its citizens, Mohammed described the cases are completely different from each other.

He said, “Security challenges are one thing. Challenging the sovereignty of Nigeria is a completely different thing. Don’t let us dwell on semantics.”

Speaking on Mohammed’s comments on Thursday, Powerful said:

“The Indigenous People of Biafra (IPOB) ably led by our great leader, Mazi Nnamdi Kanu, has noted with great amusement, a disgraceful statement credited to the zoo’s Minister of Information, Lai Mohammed, that he supports amnesty for bandits.

 “Lai Mohammed should be ashamed of himself for advocating amnesty for murderous bandits but justifying

 “Lai Mohammed has simply confirmed to the whole world that Nigerian government and her partners in crime are the key sponsors of the numerous killer squads and terrorists terrorizing the country. The whole world must take note of this man who has consistently defended terrorists in Nigeria.

 “Alhaji Lai Muhammadu has shown and presented himself as the spokesman for bandits. He has never hidden his soft spot for terrorists. The world must hold him accountable for the atrocities of Fulani bandits and terrorists ravaging Nigeria. When the chips are down, the masterminds of terrorism in Nigeria must stand trial for their evil actions.”

“Nigeria is in bed with terrorists but up in arms against innocent citizens agitating for freedom. IPOB never declared any war against Nigeria or her citizens yet it was unilaterally proscribed and banished by the government. But bandits have been on a killing spree of innocent indigenous citizens of Nigeria yet the same government is seeking amnesty for the bloodsuckers. What a disgraceful irony!

 “Victims of Fulani bandits, herdsmen and terrorists have always borne the brunt alone without any succor from the government. Instead of seeking ways to bring these criminals to book, Lai Mohammed and his fellow terrorist sponsors are busy looking for ways to compensate their foot soldiers.

 “Lai Mohammed has simply confirmed to the whole world that Nigerian government and her partners in crime are the key sponsors of the numerous killer squads and terrorists terrorizing the country. The whole world must take note of this man who has consistently defended terrorists in Nigeria.

 “Alhaji Lai Muhammadu has shown and presented himself as the spokesman for bandits. He has never hidden his soft spot for terrorists. The world must hold him accountable for the atrocities of Fulani bandits and terrorists ravaging Nigeria. When the chips are down, the masterminds of terrorism in Nigeria must stand trial for their evil actions.”