Indigenous People of Biafra (IPOB) has accused the police of blackmail over the attack facilities of the Independent National Electoral Commission (INEC).
The police in Imo state, according to its spokesperson Mike Abatam, had on Sunday, accused the IPOB of attacking the INEC office in Oru West local government in which its conference room and furniture therein were destroyed and burnt.
The police said IPOB attacked the INEC office from outside the premises.
IPOB said it was “not interested in Nigeria’s forthcoming elections in 2023.”
IPOB’s media and publicity secretary, Emma Powerful, in a statement absolved the Nnamdi Kanu-led group of having a hand in the attack.
“We, the Indigenous People of Biafra (IPOB) under the leadership of Nnamdi Kanu wish to disassociate ourselves from the recent attacks on the INEC office in Owerri Imo State.
“Neither IPOB nor ESN operatives has anything to do with Nigeria’s elections in 2023. We have never supported nor involved ourselves in any election obstruction or violence as a movement.
“As of today, IPOB is not interested in Nigeria and its electoral activities and has never asked anyone to carry out any attack on our behalf,” the statement partly said.
“Nigeria Government and her security agencies are working day and night to blackmail IPOB’s self-determination movement. There has never been any time that Nigeria Police carried out any public inquiry on all the numerous attacks and arsons that they blamed IPOB for.”
“ESN operatives never attacked the INEC office because we are not interested in this Nigeria’s forthcoming election in 2023. Those attacking INEC facilities are working to blackmail IPOB,” IPOB added.
