We Are Not Bandits, IPOB Rejects NURTW Drivers Attacks Claim, Calls It False, Sponsored And Unfounded

We Are Not Bandits, IPOB Rejects NURTW Drivers Attacks Claim, Calls It False, Sponsored And Unfounded  The Indigenous People Of Biafra (IPOB...

We Are Not Bandits, IPOB Rejects NURTW Drivers Attacks Claim, Calls It False, Sponsored And Unfounded 

The Indigenous People Of Biafra (IPOB) movement has fired back at the Nigerian Union of Road Transportation Workers (NURTW), whose members staged a protest in Jos and issued a press statement accusing the IPOB movement of indiscriminate attacks and arson against its drivers as well as destruction of goods and services transported to the South East region e.g cattles and other edible commodities. 

The NURTW truck drivers who staged the protest, urged the federal government to tackle the IPOB movement and their activities or they would boycott delivery of goods and services to the South East region. 

In response, the IPOB movement through a press statement issued by its media and publicity secretary, Comrade Emma Powerful not only denied the accusations but went on to accuse the NURTW truck drivers of colluding with the federal government to blackmail the IPOB movement and the stifle the South-East further. 

The IPOB statement reads in part, "The attention of the global family and movement of the Indigenous People of Biafra (IPOB) has been drawn to the fallacious, and sponsored protest staged in the Northern city of Jos, a city in Plateau State claiming that IPOB attacked truck drivers in the South East. The Nigerian government and its sponsored driver-terrorists accused IPOB of killing truck drivers from the Northern who were transporting goods to the South East Region.

"The false accusations by the so-called NURTW truck drivers at Jos, Plateau State is another calculated blackmail and fallacious  propaganda against IPOB. For a decade since IPOB started, we have been confronted with various State sponsored blackmail and media propaganda aimed at portraying IPOB as a violent movement."

The movement denied knowledge of any attack recorded against transport drivers from the north, in the South-East and insisted that non of its members or more extensively, the Eastern Security Network under its command and proprietorship were involved or responsible. 

"IPOB and ESN members are not violent and do not engage in attacking or killing people. We can not confirm any attack and killing of truck drivers in the South East Region. We assume that such a claim by the sponsored protesting drivers in Plateau State is unfounded." 

"IPOB members have not attacked those who pose threats to the Biafra struggle in the South East Region. Why will we attack innocent truck drivers supplying goods to our region?" 

"Those that sponsored the touts that they called Truck drivers in Plateau State to falsely accuse IPOB of attacking and killing their members in the South East should know that they are also the same people that sponsored insecurity in the South East. All the sponsored blackmail and propaganda do not move us a bit. But if such a thing happened, we condemn it." 

Furthermore, the IPOB statement allured that the areas which were mentioned by the protesting NURTW drivers as where they attacked, has been confirmed to be operational den of the marauding Fulani terror herdsmen where they collude with elements of the Nigerian military to perpetrate atrocious activities against unsuspecting members of the public. 

"The protesting touts called truck drivers claimed that the dangerous routes that their members were normally attacked are Enugu to Lokpanta, Lokpanta to Okigwe, and Okigwe to Umuahia town." 

"The public should recall that these named routes were the same routes that IPOB has raised alarm in the past about. They are hiding places for the Fulani terrorists who are colluding with the Northern soldiers at the military checkpoints to kidnap our people for ransom on those routes." 

"Many road users have fallen victim to the fulani kidnappers on those routes. Therefore, if they said that there were  attacks on truck drivers and if that is the case, it must be from the Fulani terrorists and bandits operating in that axis." 

Nigerians know that there are many confirmed cases of Fulani kidnapping on the said routes, including the kidnap of a Methodist Church Bishop. Moreso, Abia State Governor Dr Alex Otti discovered a mass grave very close to the Hausa-Fulani cattle market at Lokpanta."

"Instead of the rented Northern Truck drivers to say the truth, that they were being attacked by their fellow Northern terrorists and bandits along the dangerous routes, they falsely accuse IPOB as responsible. IPOB is not violent and will never be stupid as to attack trucks supplying food items to and from the South East Region. We are not bandits."

Finally, the statement maintained that the IPOB movement is a peaceful one seeking for freedom and self-determination via a United Nations supervised referendum and vowed to continue with its quest irrespective of blackmail, crackdowns and deceptive actions deployed by the federal government against it.

"IPOB is peaceful and a people oriented freedom  movement for Biafra restoration. We are too disciplined to venture into such criminality when we are fighting criminality in our region."

"We are certain that the Nigerian government rented the so-called truck drivers in the North to use their false accusations of attacks on their members as conduit to increase the militarization of the South East Region." 

"But, No amount of blackmail, military onslaughts, forceful disappearances, and extrajudicial executions will make IPOB retreat from demanding for Biafra's self-determination and a UN supervised  referendum. IPOB members are not violent terrorists. We are innocent of all the State sponsored accusations of violence in the South East Region."

Family Writers Press International