The Indigenous People of Biafra (IPOB) has issued a strong ultimatum to former Abia State governor, Orji Uzor Kalu, demanding that he either provide evidence or publicly apologise over his claim that the group was responsible for the deaths of 30,000 people in Nigeria’s South-East region.
In a statement signed by its Media and Publicity Secretary, Emma Powerful, the group described the allegation as false, malicious and politically motivated. IPOB maintained that it had no hand in the violence that has plagued parts of the South-East and accused Kalu of spreading what it called deliberate distortions.
The group challenged Kalu to publish specific details — including names, locations, dates and circumstances — of the alleged deaths within 48 hours or issue a public apology to Mazi Nnamdi Kanu, the organisation and the Igbo people.
IPOB also rejected responsibility for the sit-at-home orders that disrupted economic activities in the region, insisting that its leader never authorised such directives and had, instead, revoked them when they were allegedly hijacked by criminal elements.
The group further blamed the escalation of violence in the South-East on military operations, particularly the Operation Python Dance, alleging that civilian deaths followed the deployment.
IPOB concluded by insisting that it was a victim, not the orchestrator, of violence in the region, and stood by its demand that Orji Uzor Kalu either substantiate his claims or apologise publicly.