The outlawed Igbo separatist group Indigenous of Biafra (IPOB) has rejected the latest ranking from IEP’s 2022 Global Terrorism Index report, which ranked the group as the tenth deadliest terrorist organization in the world.
GTI’s ranking released Wednesday will back Biafra’s agitators against ISWAP, ISIS and Boko Haram rebels.
But in a statement on Thursday, the IPOB said it rejected the ranking, describing it as “a conspiracy by the federal government and some other foreign agencies to blackmail and demonize the organization.”
In a statement issued by IPOB’s Media and Advocacy Secretary, Emma Powerful, the organization expressed disappointment that “a well-known organization such as IEP would so lowly publish fictitious and inaccurate accounts in its 2022 Terrorism Index .”
“The Biafra Natives, under the leadership of our able leader Mazi Nnamdi Okwuchukwu Kanu, unequivocally refute the Global Terrorism Index 2022 report as a conspiracy by the Federal Government of Nigeria and some foreign agencies to blackmail and demonize IPOB globally,” stated in the statement.
“It is very disappointing that such a well-known organization as the Institute for Economics and Peace (IEP), a US-based institute that already has a measurable Global Terrorism Index, would drop to such a low levels to the point of publishing fictitious and inaccurate accounts in its 2022 Terrorism Index report.
Also read:IPOB releases update on Kanu’s worsening condition
“In IEP’s 2022 Terrorism Index report, the current Nigerian government is subtly portrayed as a safe haven with improved counter-terrorism, when in fact terrorists have become more empowered over the period.
“The report states that the total number of deaths from terrorism in Nigeria in 2022 will be 448, the lowest level since 2011. This is a fabricated lie.”
“In one state, such as Benue, Fulani-backed terrorists killed more than 400 civilians. Reports related to Nigeria show the full playbook that the Nigerian government entrusted to the institute for publication.”
The IPOB spokesperson also demanded that the IEP present irrefutable evidence that the IPOB was responsible for civilian deaths, leading to its labeling as a deadly terrorist organization.
“In the same report, IPOB A third violent group was mentioned as responsible for the deaths of civilians. We challenge the IEP to provide irrefutable proof that the IPOB has killed anyone in Nigeria.
“Instead, since 2017, there has been much verifiable evidence in both print and social media of massacres and extrajudicial executions of numerous IPOB members by Nigerian security agencies,” it said.
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