By NewsBits
The proscribed Mazi Nnamdi Kanu-led Indigenous People of Biafra (IPOB) has distanced itself from the trending video of armed, masked men who were seen inside a bush located somewhere apparently in Enugu State, threatening prominent people in the Enugu North Senatorial District otherwise known as Nsukka Zone.
In the trending video, the armed men, who claimed to be members of the ESN Motherland Warriors, issued deadly warning/threat to notable traditional rulers, religious and political leaders in the Nsukka Zone.
But the spokesman of IPOB, Comrade Emma Powerful has dissociated the pro-Biafra group from the armed men he classified as “a gang of criminal elements” who, he said, are out to cause destruction of lives and property in Igbo land.
“We the global family and movement of the Indigenous People of Biafra (IPOB) under the leadership and command of Mazi Nnamdi Kanu wish to state unequivocally to all and sundry that the criminals camping in bushes at some parts of Enugu State claiming that they are ESN Motherland warriors are not ESN Operatives nor IPOB members.
ESN Operatives do not have nicknames. They do not have any social media handle on Facebook, Instagram, or WhatsApp,” Powerful said in a statement issued on Saturday. The IPOB spokesman alleged that some prominent politicians in the state working hand-in-glove with the Nigerian government were hellbent on dragging the image of IPOB to the mud by using the organised gang of criminal elements.
“These organized criminals are sponsored by the Nigeria government and some politicians in Enugu State, namely some Traditional Rulers, Religious Leaders, and other state actors in Enugu State. Their targets can be seen in the viral video that they released. They claimed that they are ESN, but they are not ESN and do not speak for ESN. The Nigeria government, through some unscrupulous politicians have hired criminals to keep impersonating ESN as a means to blackmail IPOB and ESN with criminality, but that can’t work,” Powerful said.
The statement further stated: “These sponsored criminal gangs have nothing to offer but to kill and destroy in our land and at the same time make videos claiming to be fighting for the release of Mazi Nnamdi KANU. These are all paid agents of blackmail targeting IPOB and MNK. For these paid criminal agents to claim to be ESN Operatives in their viral videos is laughable. They are deluded and will pay dearly for the evils they commit against our people and the treachery they perpetrate in the Biafra struggle in due time. As long as they are operating in the East, ESN will capture them one day.
“IPOB and ESN operatives don’t indulge in such cowardice or political thuggery by and assassination threats. We are warning Chocho and his gang to stop using IPOB and ESN Operatives names again in this 2023. We cannot afford to allow them to use ESN’s name in their criminal activities this year, 2023.
IPOB is a peaceful movement, and it’s not in our DNA to go after people who are not our enemies. But if you have sold your soul to the devil and have become a tool in the hands of our enemies against innocent Biafrans and the struggle, then you have made yourself a target of IPOB and ESN. Impersonating ESN is highly prohibited with a capital punishment penalty. If ESN catches you impersonating them, you will have yourself to blame. That is why we are calling on every state sponsored gang to stop linking the sacred name of ESN to their criminality or face capital punishment.”
