Indigenous People of Biafra have requested that Peter Mbah, the Governor of Enugu State, cease associating their group with the autopilot group of Finland-based Simon Ekpa. It maintained that IPOB has nothing to do with Ekpa and his group.

The pro-Biafran organization was responding to the governor’s assertions that the police had put an end to 27 kidnapping gangs in the state that were made up of Eastern Security Network members who were loyal to the Ekpa.
Ekpa’s autopilot group and the 27 kidnapping gangs were not members of IPOB, according to a statement released on Thursday, 22 August 2024, by IPOB spokesman Emma Powerful, who also called the accusations against IPOB and ESN “cheap propaganda” and false.

“The global family of IPOB seeks to refute the false and misleading information being circulated by the governor’s media office in Enugu State. The information purports that 27 kidnapping gangs of ESN members who are loyal to the Finland-based group were neutralized by the Nigerian Police at multiple points in the state.

“The assertion is baseless propaganda against IPOB and ESN, in addition to being untrue. The story stated that the Nigerian Police killed 27 criminals and kidnappers at different sites in Enugu State in less than two weeks, according to the governor’s media office.

The Enugu State Government and the Nigerian Police, said “some of the offenders who have been neutralized are pro-Biafra activists who are working with the Finland-based double agent. So why did they later associate these criminals with the honorable IPOB family? The police claimed with the usual malicious intent that the so-called neutralized criminals were ESN operatives loyal to autopilot IPOB.” the statement read.

It was emphasized once more that the Ekpa had no connection to IPOB or the ESN from the time of their establishment, and that the kidnappers had nothing in common with the Biafra conflict.
IPOB has insisted for a long time that it does not operate on autopilot.

Furthermore, neither IPOB nor ESN have any connection to the head of the criminal group in Finland, dating back to the formation of the organization. “There is no connection between IPOB, ESN, and the Biafra struggle and the criminals and kidnappers.

“Dr. Peter Mbah, the governor of Enugu State, and the Nigeria Police in Enugu State ought to cease their nefarious antics. It’s time to halt the needless extortion against IPOB and address the criminals by name. “The apprehended criminals have already expressed their rightful place, which does not lie with the Eastern Security Network of the IPOB,” the statement continued.

It also issued a warning to the governor’s media office to stop associating IPOB and ESN with the self-proclaimed autopilot leader, a Finnish double agent, and his criminals in Enugu or anywhere else in Biafra territory. It further said that the Directorate of States of the IPOB was in charge of all ESN operatives.
The group declared that IPOB did not have any affiliates or factions and that there were no ESN operatives in Finland that were loyal to the autopilot.

“ESN agents never participate in illegal activity. They are well-trained vigilantes who have as their sole mission the removal of terrorists known as “herdsmen” who are destroying our farms and farmlands.

The statement continues “Biafrans can attest that since the ESN’s founding, its members have never committed crimes or jeopardized the safety and security of the people they have sworn to defend. The Nigerian government and its murderous security agencies should stop blackmailing IPOB and ESN by linking our holy ESN to the autopilot gang and their leader.”

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