BREAKING: IPOB Demands International Probe Into South-East Insecurity

• The Indigenous People of Biafra (IPOB) has renewed calls for an internationally supervised public inquiry into insecurity in Nigeria’s South-East, insisting that only an independent investigation can uncover the true drivers of violence in the region.

The Indigenous People of Biafra (IPOB) has called for an internationally supervised public inquiry into the persistent insecurity in Nigeria’s South-East, arguing that an open and independent investigation is the only way to establish the real causes of violence in the region.

In a statement issued by its spokesperson, Comrade Emma Powerful, the group criticised comments attributed to Major General Michael Onoja on security developments in the South-East, describing them as “propaganda” and misleading.

IPOB said it has “nothing to hide” and would welcome an inquiry chaired by an independent foreign judge, preferably from South Africa, insisting such a process would expose the roles played by all actors in the crisis. The group alleged that the Federal Government has resisted calls for an international probe because it fears the outcome.

According to the statement, IPOB has repeatedly appealed to the United States, the United Nations, the African Union and the European Union to support the establishment of a commission of inquiry into alleged killings, enforced disappearances, kidnappings and what it described as the deliberate destabilisation of the South-East.

The group also referenced past security operations in different parts of the country, citing incidents in Nkpor, Aba, Port Harcourt, Zaria, Odi, Zaki-Biam and the Lekki Toll Gate, where it claimed civilians were victims of excessive force. The Nigerian military has previously denied allegations of wrongdoing in several of these cases.

IPOB further accused politicians and some security operatives of enabling criminal elements and later blaming the group for rising insecurity in the region. It criticised both the ruling and opposition parties over what it described as the collapse of national security, while rejecting the “terrorist” designation applied to IPOB and its detained leader, Mazi Nnamdi Kanu.

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The group’s demands include the establishment of an independent, judge-led international inquiry into South-East insecurity, unrestricted access to documents, records and witnesses, protection for whistleblowers, and the immediate and unconditional release of Nnamdi Kanu.

IPOB maintained that Nigeria should welcome international scrutiny if it has nothing to conceal.

As of the time of filing this report, the Federal Government and the Nigerian military had not responded to IPOB’s latest statement.