IPOB’s Nnamdi Kanu and U.S President-elect Donald J. Trump
A civil society group, Centre for Social Justice, Equity and Transparency (CESJET) has
condemned in strong terms the refusal of the United State government to recognise the
Indigenous People of Biafra, IPOB, as a terrorist group. The centre said the action was a clear
indication that the US was not in support of Nigeria’s unity. IPOB’s Nnamdi Kanu and U.S
President-elect Donald J. Trump The United States Government had, during the weekend, said
that its law does not recognise IPOB as a terrorist organisation. Spokesman of the American
Embassy in Nigeria, Russell Brooks, stated that the US was committed to Nigeria’s unity and
would support a peaceful resolution of any crisis in the country. Reacting to Brooks’ assertion
, CESJET said it was disappointed to learn about the position of the United States Embassy in
Abuja, Nigeria to the effect that the Indigenous People of Biafra, IPOB, is not a terrorist group
even after a competent Nigerian court has issued an order designating the group as such.
Comrade Isaac Ikpa, Executive Secretary of CESJET said it was wrong of Brooks, to meddle in
this issue in a way that could jeopardize Nigeria’s security by maintaining that IPOB is not seen
under US laws as a terrorist organisation. Ikpa said, “The assertion ignored the fact that Nigeria is
a sovereign nation that does not need the approval of another country to contain terrorists’ threats
within its borders. The US Embassy must note that Nigeria has every right to prevent known
threats from growing same way the US placed travel ban on nationals of eight countries of the
world to keep terrorists out of its territories despite the global outcry and international criticisms
that did nothing to reverse the action. “CESJET therefore condemns the US Mission’s decision not
to acknowledge that IPOB is a terror group. As opposed to rushing to making such distracting
comment the proper thing was to have undertaken an appreciation of the threats posed by IPOB
to peace within the West Africa sub region. “We see the view expressed by the Mission through
Russell Brooks as being at variance with US President Donald Trump’s hard-line stance against
terrorists irrespective of their geographical location. Anyone or group that threatens the security of
a nation, with attendant economic, political and humanitarian crisis, fits into the definition of a
terrorist or a terrorist organization and IPOB’s activities have so far confirmed same as witnessed
by our security agencies, independent security reports etc. “The US Embassy in Nigeria must
therefore look beyond its text book approach to what is a credible terrorists’ risk to Nigeria to work
towards including IPOB in the database of US terrorist organizations. It must be noted that time is
running out to do this since IPOB members have steady access to the US and it is a matter of time
before they begin to export the evils they commit in Nigeria to that country. “The US must not be
seen as having double standards for treating terrorists. It must therefore ensure that Nigeria’s fight
against terrorism, which the US authorities have demonstrated enormous support for in the last
two years, is not jeopardized in pursuit of political correctness. The safety of the innocent
populations that are likely to become victims of IPOB’s terrorism should rather be above every
other interest,” he said. The group further called on Nigerians to disregard any classification by the
United States that conflicts with the position of the law courts and authorities in Nigeria since the
relationship between both countries should be collaborative as opposed to the colonial imperialist
bondage seared into the consciousness of some people.
