Barrister Aloy Ejimakor, special counsel to the detained leader of the Indigenous People of Biafra (IPOB), Nnamdi Kanu has threatened to sue anyone accusing the group of causing the violence around the purported sit-at-home incident in the South-East region of Nigeria.
Ejimakor said this in a tweet on Monday, in which he reinstated his earlier stand that IPOB was a non-violent group, adding that he would do everything within his realm to protect the image of the association.
He said, “I consider it my core duty to my Clients (MNK & IPOB) to say this: MNK & IPOB are still committed to the principles of non-violence. As from today, if you publicly accuse IPOB of using violence to enforce the Sit-At-Home, prepare to meet me in Court to produce your evidence.”
In May 2022, SaharaReporters had reported that Aloy Ejimakor, Nnamdi Kanu, reacted to a viral report by the BBC World Service centred around the activities of the group.
The BBC report titled, “IPOB: Nigerian ‘media warriors’ call for killings on social media over Biafra” had chronicled events showing how agitators had called for attacks against those considered enemies of the campaign for Biafran independence.”
According to the BBC report, many of these agitators are currently based outside the country from where they stoke violence in Nigeria via their podcasts, and streaming on social media platforms.
The report which exposed the activities of some individuals further claimed that some of the media warriors were being paid, “either by IPOB or by supporters, for the work they do and we saw other broadcasts in which bank details for IPOB were shared to solicit donations from followers.”
Reacting, Aloy Ejimakor exonerated the group from the claims, stating that the IPOB he represented had no connection with media warriors calling for killings.
Ejimakor noted that IPOB has chapters in various countries of the world, and is recognised as a self-determination group.
He wrote on Twitter, “Dear @BBCWorld: Again, the #IPOB I represent is registered in UK. It’s led by #MNK. It has fixed addresses & chapters worldwide & it’s recognized by nations as a NONVIOLENT self-determination movement. They’re NOT the ‘media warriors’ calling for killings over #Biafra.”
