The Indigenous People of Biafra (IPOB) has condemned what it describes as “genocidal killings” in Benue State, alleging that the ongoing violence exposes a hidden agenda tied to the prolonged detention of its leader, Mazi Nnamdi Kanu.
In a statement issued by IPOB’s spokesperson, Emma Powerful, and obtained by Hobnob News, the group asserted that the blood of those killed in Benue is “crying out,” describing the atrocities as evidence of a broader plan to subjugate indigenous populations across Nigeria.
According to Powerful, the attacks in Benue are not isolated incidents but part of a calculated campaign aimed at clearing ancestral lands through terror. He linked the crisis to what IPOB sees as a sinister justification for the extraordinary rendition and unlawful detention of Nnamdi Kanu.
“The ongoing genocidal killings in Benue State, as widely reported by credible national media outlets, expose the sinister agenda behind the illegal abduction, extraordinary rendition, and unlawful detention of our leader, Mazi Nnamdi Kanu,” the statement reads.
Powerful claimed that Kanu’s incarceration is a strategic move by what he called the “neo-colonial Fulani establishment,” suggesting that Kanu’s voice had been the major deterrent to a full-scale conquest by foreign-backed forces.
“Mazi Nnamdi Kanu is not the problem of Nigeria. He was the shield standing between indigenous populations and total annihilation by foreign-sponsored Janjaweed mercenaries masquerading as herdsmen,” Powerful stated.
He further accused the federal government of enabling the expansion of Fulani interests through controversial policies such as the RUGA settlement proposal and the Waterways Bill, both of which IPOB says are designed to facilitate the seizure of native lands.
“It was his dogged resistance that frustrated those plots and forced the Fulani oligarchy to activate Plan B — his abduction and continued incarceration,” the statement continued.
IPOB called on Nigerians, particularly those still “deceived” by federal authorities, to recognize what it claims is a deliberate campaign of suppression and land conquest, warning that silence in the face of such violence amounts to complicity.
As of press time, federal authorities had not responded to the allegations. The situation in Benue remains tense, with multiple reports of violence and displacement continuing to emerge.
