The Indigenous People of Biafra (IPOB) on Sunday distanced itself from the second Biafra declaration in Finland.
IPOB described the declaration as a shambolic scam and a charade, stating that only the declaration made by the late Odimegwu Ojukwu can stand.
Emma Powerful, the spokesman for IPOB, disclosed this in a statement he signed.
He explained that IPOB’s mission is to restore the sovereignty of the declared Biafra Independence, which was forced to surrender through genocide by the Nigerian and British governments.
The statement reads: “The Noble family and movement of the Indigenous People of Biafra (IPOB), led by the great and indomitable leader, Mazi Nnamdi Okwuchukwu Kanu, wishes to disassociate ourselves from the purported Biafra second declaration by an infamous no-name group. The so-called declaration is a scam. There is no room for another Biafra declaration besides the one our eternal leader, Dim Odimegwu Ojukwu, declared in 1967.
“IPOB wishes to commend responsible media organizations and social media bloggers in Nigeria and the diaspora that didn’t give attention to the mockery of the Biafra struggle by infiltrators in Finland and elsewhere.
“However, it is imperative to inform the international community, Biafrans, friends of Biafra, and lovers of Biafra freedom that Biafra was declared by our eternal leader, late Dim Chukwuemeka Odumegwu Ojukwu, in 1967.
“IPOB is calling for a UN-supervised referendum for Biafrans so that the declared sovereignty can be restored. Biafra cannot be declared for the second time by anyone. It is sad that some unscrupulous elements, who failed in their mission to infiltrate and destroy IPOB, went into the jamboree they claimed was Biafra’s second declaration outside the Biafra territory.
“Biafrans, and IPOB in particular, are happy that the fanfare the infiltrators had in Finland this weekend was ignored by all responsible media organizations. Those involved in the event in Finland were among the sponsors of insecurity in the Southeast Region.
“Their agenda is to destabilize the Southeast, divide the people, and divert the attention of Biafrans and those sympathetic to the Biafra struggle by making the genuine Biafra struggle unattractive to our people. They failed woefully.
“In the past, the leader of IPOB, Mazi Nnamdi Kanu, was pressured by enemies within and without to declare Biafra for the second time, but he refused. Mazi Nnamdi Kanu is a brilliant freedom fighter who understands the seasons and times and the rules governing self-determination. When those enemies within and without failed to push Mazi Nnamdi Kanu and IPOB into an untimely and unnecessary Biafra declaration, they joined a Nigerian government agent brought from Finland to destroy the Indigenous People of Biafra (IPOB). They had already celebrated their foolishness, which they called Biafra declaration, in Finland last weekend.
“IPOB is an informed movement championing the restoration of Biafra sovereignty and freedom and cannot involve itself in self-deception or scam people with the Biafra project. All those involved in the illusion and self-deception called the Biafra declaration in Finland are criminals, uninformed, and fake agents.
“Only fools rush where angels dread to enter. The Biafra struggle is a thing of the spirit because blood has been shed and sacrificed for this ultimate project. Any person, nation, or group of people who dare to obstruct the Biafra restoration will pay a heavy price.
“The autopilot criminals making money from some of their ignorant followers to make international mockery of the Biafra struggle will all pay a price. IPOB will not come after them, but the blood of the fallen heroes of Biafra will chase and hunt them down.
“Therefore, Biafrans, friends of Biafra, and lovers of Biafra freedom must understand that the shambolic declaration of Biafra Independence in the faraway land of Finland is a scam. Those who funded infiltrators that gathered for a picnic in Finland have been scammed.
“Now that the infiltrators and agents of provocateurs have declared their independence in Finland, we hope they will enjoy their freedom and stop interfering with IPOB’s peaceful struggle and engagement for the restoration of the Biafra Nation.
“Again, we reiterate that our eternal leader, Dim Chukwuemeka Odumegwu Ojukwu, declared Biafra Independence in Biafra Land in 1967. He and other Biafran men and women fought gallantly in an unprepared genocidal war to defend the declared territory of Biafra for three years.
“General Dim Ojukwu had the support and backing of Ndigbo, Biafrans in general, and the Biafra Consultative Forum to declare for Biafra Independence at that time. Heaven declared Biafra once, though short-lived, and on the strength of that declaration, IPOB stands to demand a UN-supervised referendum for Biafrans to decide their political future.
“Therefore, the idiocy exhibited by a group of nincompoops in Finland recently in the name of the Biafra declaration is trash. It was a welcome development that they were ignored by the media and public because they did not exist.
“This press release is to keep the record straight and to disassociate IPOB and Mazi Nnamdi Kanu from the idiocy exhibited in Finland called the Biafra second declaration. The Finland Biafra declaration is a pure scam by some agent provocateurs.”