- Senior special assistant on media and publicity Garba Shehu says IPOB had all the appearances of a terrorist organisation
- Unlike IPOB, Fulani herdsmen, he said, were only a criminal organisation
- Garba Shehu named at least five reasons that made federal government consider IPOB more dangerous than herdsmen
The Nigerian Presidency has listed reasons why it brought down the hammer on Indigenous People of Biafra (IPOB) while appearing to ignore the activities of rampaging Fulani herdsmen.
According to the presidency, IPOB had clear tendencies of a terrorist group while the herdsmen were just a criminal group.
The clarifications were made by President Muhammadu Buhari’s media aide Garba Shehu in an interview with Nigerian Tribune published on Saturday, September 23.
According to Shehu, comparing IPOB to the herdsmen is like ‘comparing apples with paw paws’.
READ ALSO: Nigerian Army declares victory over IPOB
Explaining further, Shehu gave five reasons why the federal government deemed IPOB more dangerous than Fulani herdsmen.
1. State declaration
IPOB declared the state of Biafra. He said: “The herdsmen, no matter how criminal their actions, have never declared a sovereign state within Nigeria.”
2. Holding Nigerian territories
According to Shehu, IPOB was holding on to Nigerian territories and making moves to take more. “They don’t have territorial ambitions. IPOB on the other has put us on notice that they want to take Kogi, Benue, Rivers, Bayelsa and Delta!”
3. Flags
Shehu also noted that the pro-Biafra secessionists had flags like terrorist groups
4. Passports
The presidential aide also made allusion to the creation of embassies across the world by IPOB.
He said: “The Fulani don’t have flags or national passports”
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5. Biafra Secret Service
Shehu also noted that unlike Fulani herdsmen, IPOB had standing military and secret service officials
“They (Fulani herdsmen) don’t boast of a secret service or of building their own army.”
The presidential aide ended it with the declaration that all the above reasons made IPOB sound “more like Boko Haram to me than the herdsmen”.
NAIJ.com had reported recently that following the federal government’s proscription and designation of Indigenous People of Biafra (IPOB) as a terrorist organisation, the presidency has stated that other secessionist groups in the country that operate like IPOB would also be tagged as terrorist organisations.
The presidency also said the government was able to quickly identify the source of IPOB’s funding but had failed to trace that of Boko Haram because the method used by the pro-Biafra group to source for funds was open.
Watch this NAIJ.com TV video of Nigerians sharing their opinion on Nigerian Army's operation Crocodile Smile aimed at stopping other secessionist groups like IPOB
Source: Naij.com
ROSY CREST
Saturday, 23 September 2017