The Indigenous People of Biafra, IPOB, has assured Igbo people, both at home and in the diaspora, of robust security across the Southeast during the festive season, urging them to return in large numbers without fear.
The group’s Media and Publicity Secretary, Comrade Emma Powerful, gave this assurance in a statement on Sunday.
Powerful stated that security operatives affiliated with the group’s Eastern Security Network (ESN), alongside community volunteers, would help maintain safety throughout the festive period.
The pro-Biafran group said the South-East remains Nigeria’s “most tranquil” zone and claimed that security conditions in the region have improved despite what it described as “sponsored instability” over the past four years.
In a statement on Sunday, IPOB spokesperson, Emma Powerful, asked residents and returnees to disregard what he termed propaganda against IPOB and the Eastern Security Network, insisting that both groups, with the support of the people, had played key roles in maintaining security in the region.
Powerful said the South-East had remained largely peaceful because Ndigbo are “inherently peaceful”, while urging people to also bring investments home.
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The statement read in part, “The worldwide family and movement of the IPOB, expertly guided by our leader, Mazi Nnamdi Kanu, urges Ndigbo in Nigeria and abroad who plan to come home for the Christmas festivities to do so, as ESN operatives and IPOB volunteers will ensure security throughout the entire South-East region.
“The South East Region is Nigeria’s most tranquil area. Despite the sponsored instability in the region over the last four years, the security conditions have notably enhanced.”
IPOB also dismissed social media reports about an alleged kidnapping of passengers at Ngor Okpala along the Owerri–Aba Expressway, describing the footage circulated as “old” and “false”.
It noted that ESN operations are conducted discreetly and warned the public not to expect updates on social media, adding that ESN has no official online accounts.
Powerful said, “The absence of continuous killings and abductions in the South-East region serves as evidence that there are ‘Lions’ guarding the land.”
He accused the Federal Government and some Igbo politicians of attempting unsuccessfully to “break up” IPOB and ESN, adding that the Biafra restoration movement remained “a sacred initiative”.
The group encouraged Ndigbo to return home in large numbers for Christmas and invest in the region, urging them not to allow fear or insecurity narratives to discourage them from visiting.