The Indigenous People of Biafra, IPOB, have denied any involvement in the killing of a pregnant woman and her four children in Anambra State.
The group said it strongly condemned the ‘abominable” act, saying that “in Igboland, it is an abomination to kill a pregnant woman. The perpetrators of the heinous crime are certainly not IPOB and could never have been”.
The pregnant woman from Adamawa State, Harira Jubril, with her four kids, was killed when unknown gunmen opened fire on the Isulo community in Orumba North Local Government Area last Sunday.
The gunmen visited two other communities on the same day and killed about five other persons.
The Orumba North LGA is among the communities that the State Governor, Prof. Chukwuma Soludo, has imposed a 6pm to 6am curfew on during a live broadcast on Wednesday.
Soludo described the killings as “barbaric” and “unacceptable” and vowed to fish out the perpetrators and deal with them in accordance with the law.
But the IPOB through its Media and Publicity Secretary, Emma Powerful, in a statement on Friday, said, “We have always said it that the terrorists were imported into Biafra land to commit the ongoing atrocities all in an attempt to discredit our struggle, demonise IPOB and proscribe it, then lobby and bribe Britain to tag us a terror group with the hope to stop our match to freedom.”
Powerful said those involved in the “barbarity” of killing the Hausa woman and children should wait for the repercussions of the evil they committed against the innocent woman and her children.
He insisted that the criminal elements behind the killing were not IPOB and that they should be prepared to pay for their heinous crime.
He accused the military of harbouring Fulani terrorists in their barracks and giving them ID cards for identification, adding that the terrorists were transferred into the southeast territory.
The statement read in part, “IPOB has severally said that these criminal elements are not part of us and they should allow Hausa do their legitimate business in our land because Hausa too suffer the same fate we are facing in the hands of Fulani terrorists claiming they are herdsmen in Nigeria.
“The husband said he ran away from his home state, Adamawa because of terrorists pursuing him and his family members. The people pursuing him can come here and kill them to give impression that Igbos and IPOB killed them. We can’t kill pregnant women and children, it is abomination in our land.
“We wonder how a Fulani newspaper would bluntly be accusing IPOB for what we know nothing about without proper investigation. The newspaper should have done its proper investigation before arriving at the conclusion that it was IPOB that killed the innocent woman but we are not surprised at their accusations because it fits perfectly into their grand plan and agenda.
“They think we are as barbaric as the fulani who massacred many Biafran pregnant women ripped open their stomach, brought out the unborn baby and smatched it on the ground. How will the Killing of one pregnant poor Hausa woman bring about the restoration of Biafra? IPOB will gain nothing in shedding innocent blood. Daily Trust newspapers must retract their wicked publication.
“We are aware the Fulani is unhappy over the good relationship and understanding between Igbo and Hausa, and they want to sow the seed of enmity between us. The Hausa also suffer similar fate to us in the hands of the wicked Fulani. The Fulani is looking for opportunity to set Igbo against the Hausa so we can never unite to resist them.
“Hausa people both their leaders as well as the talakawas should understand that Biafrans are not after them and will not endanger their lives or businesses in any manner. Our enemies and focus are only Fulani terrorists masquerading as herdsmen manhandling our mothers and sisters in the bushes and forests.
“Fulani should stop creating enmity between the Hausas and Igbos where non exist. Again the problem and confusion they are perpetrating in the country will hunt them down in the near future. Fulani people are given ID cards by the Nigerian military to reside in the military barracks in the Eastern region and use the same as staging ground to commit all manner of heinous crimes. We state categorically that these Fulani terrorists murdered this Hausa woman and her children in Agulu Anambra State.
“We are calling on all diplomatic missions in Abuja, Amnesty International, Human Rights Watch, and all relevant Human Rights Organisations across the globe to ask Nigeria military why they harbour Fulani in their respective military barracks in the Eastern region where these criminals hid when they kidnap our people while Nigerian soldiers will give them backup and cover-up.” (Punch)
