In the spirit of the yuletide season, the Indigenous People of Biafra (IPOB) has called on Ndigbo in Nigeria and across the Diaspora to return home for the Christmas celebrations.
IPOB also assured sons and daughters of South-East extraction of safety and peace across the South-East during the Yuletide.
In a statement on Sunday, the group’s spokesperson, Emma Powerful, said the South-East remained Nigeria’s most peaceful region, insisting that security conditions have significantly improved despite what he described as “sponsored instability” in the last four years.
Powerful enjoined Igbo people not to be deceived by what he termed “propaganda” against IPOB and its security arm, the Eastern Security Network (ESN), emphasising that both groups, with the support of the people, have played crucial roles in maintaining relative calm in the region.
According to Powerful, the South-East has remained peaceful because Ndigbo are “inherently peaceful” people, and encouraged returnees to take advantage of the festive season to invest in their homeland.
He also dismissed viral social media reports alleging the kidnapping of passengers at Ngor Okpala along the Owerri–Aba Expressway, describing the footage circulated as “old” and “false.”
Powerful accused the Federal Government and some Igbo politicians of attempting, unsuccessfully, to “break up” IPOB and ESN, stressing that the Biafra restoration struggle remains “a sacred initiative.”
He urged Ndigbo to ignore fear-mongering narratives about insecurity and return home in large numbers for Christmas, maintaining that the South-East is ready to welcome them peacefully.
