IPOB denies knowledge of any pact entered by Kanu’s siblings with Tinubu

The Indigenous People Of Biafra (IPOB), has vehemently denied having knowledge of any agreement entered into with President Bola Tinubu in 2023 for the release of Nnamdi Kanu, the embattled leader of the separatist movement.

The denial is coming after NewsBand Newspaper reported that Kanu’s family expressed deep disappointment over what they claim is President Bola Tinubu’s failure to honour a pact reportedly made through his son, Seyi Tinubu, before the 2023 general elections.

In a statement, Kanu’s younger brother, Mr. Emmanuel Kanu, alleged that Seyi Tinubu, with his father’s approval, met with him in Abuja before the election.

The alleged agreement stipulated that IPOB would not boycott the election in exchange for Kanu’s release if Bola Tinubu became President.

“Before the last election, I received a message from a former governor that Seyi, the son of President Tinubu, wanted to meet with me,” Prince Emmanuel said in the statement.

“I agreed on the condition that the priority of our discussion would be the release of my brother. The meeting took place in Abuja with another individual present as a witness.

“Seyi assured me that the meeting was sanctioned by his father and that any agreement reached would be binding. In good faith, we agreed that IPOB would not interfere with the election process.

“I relayed this understanding to my brother, and he reaffirmed IPOB’s commitment to not call for an election boycott or civil disobedience.

“When Tinubu visited Owerri during his campaign, he publicly reaffirmed his commitment to facilitating my brother’s release if elected.

“IPOB kept its part of the agreement, ensuring there was no call for election boycott, despite having the capacity to do so”, the statement added.

Also, Emmanuel Kanu expressed the family’s disappointment that almost two years after Mr. Tinubu took over the baton of leadership, his brother has continued to languish in detention despite several courts granting him bail or dismissing the case in his favour.

“However, it defies logic that nearly two years after President Tinubu assumed office, my brother remains in detention without any formal charges.

“The Appeal Court discharged him and ordered his release, a decision the Buhari administration ignored.

“The Supreme Court also determined that his bail should not have been revoked, yet this has been disregarded.

“Nigerian courts are unwilling to resolve his case on merit, relying instead on technicalities to stall proceedings. His detention lacks any legal basis, either in Nigeria or elsewhere in the world.

“It is deeply disappointing that those who claim to be honorable cannot keep their word,” he lamented.

But a report by Family Writers Press (FWP), a propaganda wing of the separatist movement, revealed that when some members of the IPOB Directorate Of States (DOS) were contacted over the said agreement, the senior officials not only denied knowledge of such agreement but also maintained that the IPOB leadership has never and will never send any member of the Kanu family as delegates or emissaries on any official duty, since they are not registered family members of the movement in the first place.

The report quoted one of the officials as saying, “I’m surprised by this news, we know some siblings of our leader have been trying to exact some control in our movement though they have been unsuccessful. But i must tell you that the members of the DOS, myself included were not aware of this said bargain, and would never have sent any sibling of Onyendu on such missions when we have capable hands in IPOB.”

“We have always stated this that unscrupulous members of the Kanu family covertly uses the IPOB name to cut deals with politicians at our back, and have always maintained that such deal are not binding on our movement or decisions thereof. IPOB has publicized channels of communication through which it can be reached and the Kanu family is not one of them.”

Another IPOB senior official according to FWP, stated that the decision for IPOB ambivalence in the 2023 presidential elections was influenced by a variety of reasons ranging from the concerted effort to dispel the violent malevolence of the agent provocateurs who were banking on using the name of IPOB/ESN to destabilize the elections and pin the crime on the movement, and also to demonstrate to the Igbos who were enthusiastic with Peter Obi’s candidacy for the presidency under the Labour party that the Nigeria electoral and judicial system was already configured against them.

And as such, IPOB maintained neutrality to let them understand these lessons.

The senior official explained that the IPOB movement received preemptive credible intelligence about the election results and the rigging out of Obi, the coordinated Anti-Igbo euphoria that would follow, as well as the plans by the agent provocateurs to destabilize the elections and pin the crimes on IPOB to enable the Nigeria government convince the international community on the need to designate IPOB as a terrorist group.

“When we tell you that the IPOB intelligence unit, M-Branch are top-notch in intelligence gathering. We are not joking. Before the election we received a number of intelligence reports that the criminals were planning to use IPOB name to cause havoc in the elections in Biafraland and pin it on IPOB. Do not forget that it is around the same time that we were battling the erroneous inclusion of IPOB in world terrorism index of 2022.

“So, we made the decision to stay away from the elections and even deploy units of the ESN to engage in preemptive strikes against the criminals and their plans in Biafraland.”

“Secondly, we also received high-end intel from insiders about the election and how the results and even the BVAS and electronic gadgets have been planned to be manipulated in favour of the picked candidate, Tinubu. And judging from the popular support from some Biafrans towards Peter Obi, we decided not to interfere and let them not be rigged out and they will blame IPOB.

“Even before the propaganda against Igbos in Lagos started, we received the intel and we announced it partly too. But, we also realized that the propaganda against Ndigbo in Lagos coupled with rigging out of Peter Obi will work in favour of our initiatives for our people to return their investments back home and develop substantial apathy for Nigeria central politics after the broad day light robbery. And as you can see, it worked. There is mass return of Ndigbo and their businesses to the Biafraland and patriotism to Alaigbo is top-notch.

“These are the major reasons why IPOB stayed away from the election not because one stupid guy struck a deal with Tinubu’s son. Why would an reputable institution strike an unsigned deal with the son of presidential aspirant? A French agent for that matter.

“We don’t work that way and I urge the public to disregard such news as it has nothing to do with IPOB. And, even Tinubu and his son knew it had no substance hence they did not commit to it.”

“Our agitation for Biafra continues with our clear-cut strategies. We will continue to confront the Nigerian government in our area and place of our choosing until our leader is released and a date for Biafra referendum is issued. And on that day, no member of the Kanu family, except the leader of IPOB will be on that table. The public should be guided properly.”

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