President Buhari blamed the Indigenous People of Biafra (IPOB) for the vandalism of hydrocarbon pipelines and infrastructures in Nigeria in the course of answering a security question posed to him by Bloomberg news.
In the interaction question and answer exercise conducted by Bloomberg news, Buhari was asked, “ Why has insecurity been so hard to tackle?” In answering the security question he hinted on the alleged complicity of IPOB in the damages of pipelines in Nigeria.
Buhari said,” We urge those same international partners to take additional steps costing them nothing, by proscribing another group – IPOB – as a terrorist organization. Their leadership enjoys safe haven in the West, broadcasting hate speech into Nigeria from London, spending millions lobbying members of the US Congress, and freely using international financial networks to arm agitators on the ground. This must stop.”
In the rebuttal, IPOB spokesperson, Emma Powerful in a press release dismissed the allegation of IPOB in the damage of country’s pipeline and infrastructures, deeming the allegation “laughable and childish.”
The press release reads: “The attention of the global movement and family of the Indigenous People of Biafra (IPOB) ably led by our great and indefatigable leader, Mazi Nnamdi KANU, has been drawn to the laughable, disgraceful and fallacious statement from the supposed President of Nigeria, Major General Muhammadu Buhari, alleging that IPOB is behind pipeline vandalism in the Niger Delta”
“For the impostor in Aso Rock to tell the US and other Western countries that IPOB is responsible for pipeline vandalism in the Niger Delta shows how shallow-minded and uninformed he is.
“Why should he choose to further advertise his ignorance and the failure of his government in credible intelligence gathering by making such laughable, wide and untenable allegations?
It continues, “Muhammadu Buhari should tell America and other Western countries the locations of pipelines IPOB vandalised in their evil country.
“The allegation against IPOB by Buhari is childish because everybody knows that IPOB does not engage in pipeline vandalism in Nigeria. Even the international community knows that IPOB is not involved in such an act.
“Buhari should be reminded that his western audience already knows the actual culprits behind pipeline vandalism in Nigeria and who the beneficiaries are.
“What a contradiction and confusion in Buhari’s Nigeria! In case he has forgotten as usual, just last week, his NSCDC (Nigeria Security and Civil Defense Corps) boss threatened to name high profile Nigerians behind oil theft.
“Did the NSCDC boss need to issue such a threat assuming IPOB a ‘terror organisation’ according to Buhari’s Nigeria is actually the ones behind the crime,” IPOB equipped.
In the question and answer exercise by Bloomberg, the Nigerian president further insinuated that the terrorist killings in the country were rooted on farmers and herders confrontation: “My administration is the only in Nigeria’s history to implement a solution to decades-long herder-farmer conflicts, exacerbated by desertification and demographic growth. The National Livestock Transformation Plan, putting ranching at its core, is the only way to deplete the competition for resources at the core of the clashes. Governors from some individual states have sought to play politics where ranches have been established; but where they have been disputes have dramatically reduced,” Buhari said.
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