IPOB Accuses Uwazuruike of Betraying Biafra Struggle

The Indigenous People of Biafra, IPOB, has accused former leader of the Movement for the Actualization of the Sovereign State of Biafra, MASSOB, Ralph Uwazuruike, of betraying the Biafra struggle for personal gain.

IPOB made the allegation in a statement issued on Saturday by Mazi Alex Chinonso Omenka, Coordinator of Emekuku Unit 1, Owerri Zone.

The statement was in response to Uwazuruike’s call on the leadership of Ohanaeze Ndigbo to prevail on IPOB leader Nnamdi Kanu to stop allegedly recruiting Igbo youths for violence.

IPOB described Uwazuruike as a man whose political relevance had diminished, alleging that he was using Kanu’s name to attract attention and gain favour from those opposed to the Biafra cause.

According to the group, Uwazuruike abandoned the Biafra struggle in pursuit of personal interests and therefore lacked the moral authority to comment on the movement or its leadership.

The group also rejected allegations that Kanu was recruiting youths to engage in violence, insisting that the Eastern Security Network, ESN, was established solely to protect communities in the South-East from attacks by criminal elements following what it described as the failure of security agencies to provide adequate protection.

IPOB maintained that videos circulating online showing armed youths were not evidence that Kanu was orchestrating violence from detention, but rather reflected the frustration of young people over persistent insecurity in the region.

The group further stated that Kanu’s recent leadership restructuring within IPOB and the “100-man divine project” were aimed at strengthening the organisation and improving its legal and administrative structures, not promoting violence.

IPOB also dismissed Uwazuruike’s suggestion that repentant IPOB members should be granted amnesty similar to former Boko Haram members, describing the comparison as inappropriate and insulting.

Reaffirming its support for Kanu, the group said its leader remained committed to pursuing the actualisation of Biafra through a referendum despite his continued detention.

The statement concluded by accusing individuals it described as saboteurs of attempting to undermine the Biafra movement, insisting that such efforts would not prevent the group’s pursuit of its objectives.