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Nnamdi Kanu Never Authorised Killing Of Human Beings For Charms, It’s An Abominable Act— IPOB

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IPOB said this in its reaction to the confession of Emeoyiri Uzoma Benjamin, also known as Onye Army, that Kanu ordered him to kill people for charms.

The Indigenous People of Biafra (IPOB) says its leader, Nnamdi Kanu has never authorised the killing of innocent civilians or security agents.

Nnamdi Kanu

IPOB said this in its reaction to the confession of one Emeoyiri Uzoma Benjamin, also known as Onye Army, that Kanu ordered him to kill people for charms.

The suspect, Onye Army, nabbed by the Imo State Police Command said the IPOB leader also asked him to abduct and kill 10 girls to make protective charms.

IPOB said, “The so-called Onye Army said he joined ESN in 2019 while ESN was established on December 12th, 2020 it exposed them that they coached him to be talking rubbish statements against ESN, IPOB, and Nnamdi Kanu.”

According to the statement by the group’s spokesman, Emma Powerful released on Sunday, Onye Army was used by the Department of the State Services (DSS) to make false statements against Kanu who has been in DSS custody since last Tuesday.

The pro-Biafra separatist group said in the statement, “We state without ambiguities that our leader, Mazi Nnamdi Kanu, an ardent believer in God and an adherent of the Jewish faith does not believe in bloodshed and never asked anyone to kill to be fortified. He doesn’t believe in fetish powers and has openly preached against such ungodly practice.”

Powerful maintained that IPOB’s goal is certain to actualise Biafra while its militia wing was established to resist Fulani killer herdsmen in South-East and South-South regions and other places where Biafra supporters find themselves.

The statement reads: “The attention of the Indigenous People of Biafra (IPOB) ably led by our great and indomitable leader, Mazi Nnamdi Kanu, has been drawn to the fallacious claims by one man who claimed to be Eastern Security Network (ESN) Commander, and claiming that our leader commanded him to kill security agents.

“He also shamelessly claimed that 10 girls were killed to prepare charms to fortify him which are false statements forced by the DSS to make such unfounded statements against ESN, IPOB, and our leader, Mazi Nnamdi Kanu. The so-called Onye Army said he join ESN in 2019 while ESN was established on December 12th, 2020. It exposed them that they coached him to be talking rubbish statements against ESN, IPOB, and Nnamdi Kanu.

“We want to make it clear that the purported ESN Commander is not known to us and we discovered that he is a mole planted by the government and security agencies into ESN. We know our commanders and they know us. The so-called man must be one of the criminals recruited by the Department of State Services to infiltrate ESN but our gallant men were at alert and smarter than the DSS.

“It is obvious that the so-called ESN Commander and his likes were the saboteurs planted by the DSS to assassinate our gallant Ikonso. After killing Ikonso, they are now trying to concoct a tale to implicate our leader, Mazi Nnamdi Kanu. We are not surprised that Nigeria took back their mole after the death of Ikonso the unit commander whom the so-called Onye Army spied over before his death.

“This Onye Army was nowhere to be seen after the death of Ikonso, where did he get the information that our leader, Mazi Nnamdi Kanu gave the order for 2,000 heads to bury Ikonso because he was not in the camp again from that day he gave Ikonso out to Nigeria’s security service, and can he provide the parents of those thirteen virgins he was mentioned during his interrogation? Nigerian security agencies must stop using fake news and propaganda to demoralise IPOB, Nnamdi Kanu, and ESN because we don’t kill (people) who are not terrorists.

“We are not however surprised that now that the Nigeria security has abducted our leader, Mazi Nnamdi Kanu, and put him in custody, they will sponsor all manner of criminals to see if they can implicate him and puncture his global reputation. The question every sane person will be asking is: why now that our leader, Mazi Nnamdi Kanu is in custody that the so-called ESN Commander is making this ridiculous confessional statement?

“The Nigerian Security apparatus are shopping for compromised witnesses for their unfounded accusations levelled against our leader just as they did in 2015 when they arrested him the first time and they will fail in this their new project as they failed then in 2015.”

He continued, “IPOB and ESN do not also kill people to get powers. Our faith and values abhor such superstition. How can we be killing the same people we are putting our lives on the line to defend and liberate? It sounds very stupid! We are not Fulani herdsmen and bandits who bathe with
“Members of the public should disregard such claims. The DSS is only trying but in vain to implicate our leader Mazi Nnamdi Kanu so that they can establish grounds to convict him but they will not succeed. ESN was only established to defend our ancestral land against terrorists and bandits ravaging our communities. The killing of security agents wasn’t part of its mandate.

“It should also be noted that ESN is not unknown gunmen created by security agents to create the wrong impression that ESN was killing security agents. We made these explanations before but people never believed us. Now it has become obvious why the Nigerian security agencies were killing in the name of unknown gunmen and blaming it on IPOB and ESN just to justify their continued extra-judicial killing of our people.

“This was how a police officer killed five persons in Enugu recently and was blaming it on unknown gunmen if not that luck ran out on him and one of his victims survived to tell the truth. God exposed him and his atrocities, otherwise, they would have pointed accusing fingers at ESN or IPOB.

“We pity DSS because they have failed with this latest episode on arrival because ESN doesn’t kill anybody unless you are a terrorist. ESN was inaugurated to chase Fulani terrorists rampaging our farms and villages, not police or army. Our leader only believes in self-defence when we are attacked without provocation, and self-defence is legal and a fundamental right. It doesn’t matter who the attacker may be, once one is attacked without provocation the victim has the right to defend himself/herself.

“We are calling on human rights organisations, UN, US, EU, AU, Australia, Canada, Israel, Britain, Russia, France, Japan and other Western and civilised countries in the world that ESN and IPOB do not kill innocent citizens because they were not set up for that purpose. The ESN was set up to drive away armed Fulani terrorists who took over our forests and farmlands thereby preventing our mothers from cultivating their farmland. Nigeria’s security agencies are institutions of liars designed to concoct falsehood against innocent citizens. This is their trademark.”

Culled from the Sahara Reporters

 

 

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Nigeria: chibok abduction anniversary spurs demands for justice

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Militants, alongside relatives of victims of the infamous abduction of the Chibok schoolgirls that sparked global outrage in 2014, gathered in Lagos on Sunday, April 14, to renew calls for the release of the remaining girls in captivity.

The Sunday meeting was organized to mark the 10th anniversary of the abduction that affected 276 schoolgirls from the Government Girls Secondary School in Chibok, Borno State, northeastern Nigeria.

“What I would ask the government is to find a way to work towards bringing back our sisters because I know it is only the government that can help us bring back these girls,” said Grace Dauda, a rescued Chibok schoolgirl.

Another rescued schoolgirl, Rebecca Malu, added, “They should stay safe. They should stay strong, one day, they will be released like us.”

While some girls managed to escape on their own, others have been freed over the years through intense campaigns by civil society organizations and government negotiations. But this human rights activist, Ayo Obe, is calling for more action from the authorities.

“We know that we started with missing persons numbering two hundred and fifty-six; it is already an improvement that we are down to 91. But of course, 91 is 91 lives unaccounted for. We appreciate the fact that so many of them escaped during the abduction itself. We appreciate the fact that the government has brought back so many more of them, but we say that we don’t stop here. We need the momentum that has happened since the mass return during the Buhari administration in 2016-2017 to be maintained. We expected that the remaining girls would have been brought back,” she said.

Mass school children kidnapping in Nigeria has continued nearly unabated since Chibok. Around 1,700 students have been kidnapped in raids since 2014 according to Amnesty International.

A member of the Bring Back Our Girls movement and convener of the 10th-year anniversary in Lagos, Opeyemi Adamolekun, lamented this as unfortunate.

“Unfortunately, it became political between 2014 and 2015, part of the amplification of the movement was part of the 2015 presidential campaign. And we saw the effect of the first batch of 21 that were released with the help of the Red Cross and the Swiss government. The second batch of 82 that were released with the help of the Red Cross and the Swiss government as well. But unfortunately, it seems that energy sort of dissipated because the government doesn’t feel as much pressure as they used to feel,” she said.

For this group of Nigerians, the government must match words with more action to stem the tide of mass school kidnappings in the country.

According to the Murtala Muhammed Foundation, a charity that advocates for the Chibok schoolgirls, about 90 girls still remain in captivity while dozens of the schoolgirls freed over the years are living inside a military-run rehabilitation camp with surrendered Boko Haram fighters they married in the Sambisa forest, Boko Haram’s main hideout.

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Nigeria suspends permit of 3 private jet operators

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Nigeria’s Civil Aviation Authority (NCAA) has taken action against private jet operators flouting regulations by suspending the Permit for Non-Commercial Flights (PNCF) of three operators caught conducting commercial flights.

This crackdown follows warnings issued in March 2024.

Acting Director General Capt. Chris Najomo stated that increased surveillance at Nigerian airports led to the grounding of three operators found violating their PNCF terms. Specifically, they breached annexure provisions and Part 9114 of the Nigeria Civil Aviation Regulations 2023.

In response, the NCAA announced a thorough re-evaluation of all PNCF holders to ensure compliance with regulations, to be completed by April 19th, 2024. PNCF holders have been instructed to submit necessary documents within 72 hours to expedite the process. Najomo emphasized these actions highlight the NCAA’s commitment to enhancing safety in Nigerian airspace.

Furthermore, the NCAA warned the public against using charter operators without a valid Air Operators Certificate and urged legitimate industry players to report any suspicious activities promptly.

This crackdown comes after the NCAA’s stern warning in March against PNCF holders engaging in commercial operations.

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Senator Cory Booker Leads a Congressional Delegation to Nigeria

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Photo: Senator Cory Booker (In the back) and a Diplomat from the US Department of State, joins with members of the Academy for Women Alumnae Association including Mercy Ogori of Kokomi Africa and Adebisi Odeleye of Moore Organics.

Senator Cory also met women entrepreneurs from the Academy for Women Alumnae Association

Last week, US Senator Cory Booker from New Jersey led a congressional delegation to Nigeria, which included House of Representatives members Sara Jacobs and Barbara Lee from California. The purpose of the visit was to discuss a partnership on sustainable development. During the talks, Nigerian President Bola Tinubu expressed his administration’s dedication to strengthening democracy through upholding the rule of law and ensuring good governance, justice, and fairness for all citizens. Senator Booker emphasized the shared values of democracy, the rule of law, and commitment to peace and good governance that bind Nigeria and the United States as partners.

The delegation also met with women entrepreneurs from the Academy for Women Alumnae Association, who had participated in US-sponsored exchange programs. Led by Adebisi Odeleye of Moore Organics, the businesswomen shared their experiences and discussed their entrepreneurial endeavors. Other Academy members were Mandela Washington Fellow, Nkem Okocha of Mama Moni, Inemesit Dike of LegalX, and Mercy Ogori of Kokomi.

The partnership between the United States and Nigeria has lasted over six decades, focusing on addressing security challenges, enhancing health security, and responding to global health crises. Despite obstacles like corruption, poverty, and insecurity, the US remains dedicated to supporting Nigerian institutions and promoting free, fair, transparent, and peaceful elections.

During the visit to the State House, Senator Booker reiterated the shared values of democracy, the rule of law, and commitment to peace and good governance that unite Nigeria and the United States as partners.

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