The Indigenous People of Biafra (IPOB) on Thursday, responded to the Islamic cleric, Sheikh Ahmad Gumi who had compared the movement to criminal bandits.
Gumi had stated this during an interview with AriseTV.
IPOB leader, Nnamdi Kanu reacted to the cleric’s statement via the group’s spokesperson, Emma Powerful.
Kanu insisted that Gumi was a terrorist with no empathy for victims of terrorism in the country.
The IPOB leader dared Gumi to stop twisting facts, stressing that the group was not against Northerners in the South-East but terrorists.
An excerpt from the IPOB statement reads, “The attention of the Indigenous Peoples of Biafra IPOB, led by Mazi Nnamdi Kanu, has been drawn to the latest ranting and ridiculous claims by terrorist apologist, Sheikh Abubakar Gumi, that IPOB, and Eastern Security Network, ESN, were killing Northerners. There is no iota of truth in such mischievous and fallacious claims.
“In case the self-acclaimed Islamic cleric has forgotten, may we remind him that neither IPOB nor ESN is a terrorist organization or killers like his bandit clients and allies. Spilling of blood is never part of our mandate.
“ESN is a child of necessity created for the defence of our ancestral land against terrorists and killer herdsmen wreaking havoc across our communities. ESN is only defending our hapless mothers and sisters who have been raped, maimed, and attacked without any justification by Fulani herdsmen.
“Gumi should be ashamed that an Islamic cleric as he claims has suddenly become a mouthpiece for bandits and terrorists. Why does Gumi have special interest in bandits and terrorists is an indication that he is a terrorist but has never shown any empathy to their victims or other Nigerians? Why is Gumi always advocating for terrorists and negotiating with them but never advancing the cause of victims of terror? What does Sheikh Gunmi have in common with bandits and terrorists?
“Gumi only wants to blackmail IPOB and ESN with his fabricated propaganda that we are attacking Northerners so as to provide more justification for his Fulani terrorist security agencies in Nigeria uniforms to come after innocent people as they are currently doing.
“We want to put the world on notice that Sheikh Gumi is the main sponsor banditry and terrorism in Nigeria. He should be made to face the consequences of his actions.”
