IPOB Rejects Tinubu’s Independence Day Speech, Accuses President of Hate and Double Standards

The Indigenous People of Biafra (IPOB) has strongly rejected President Bola Ahmed Tinubu’s Independence Day address, describing it as divisive, hateful, and targeted against the Igbo people.

In a statement issued on Wednesday, October 1, 2025, by its spokesperson, Comrade Emma Powerful, IPOB condemned the President for allegedly equating the movement with Boko Haram, while deliberately omitting other terrorist groups such as ISWAP, Al-Qaeda in the Maghreb, and Lakaruwa.

IPOB maintained that it is a peaceful, globally recognized self-determination movement and not a terrorist organization. The group recalled that a Federal High Court judgment in 2017 had ruled that IPOB was not a terrorist body, insisting that the so-called proscription order was “a worthless piece of paper” used by past governments to justify violence and extrajudicial killings against unarmed Biafrans.

Accusations of Hypocrisy
The group faulted Tinubu’s “selective labeling,” accusing the President of demonizing IPOB while “exonerating Fulani herdsmen” responsible for widespread killings in several states. IPOB said the government consistently downplays violent attacks on communities as “farmer-herder clashes” but is quick to tag unarmed Igbo protesters as terrorists.

“This double standard exposes Tinubu’s deep-seated prejudice against the Igbo race,” the statement alleged, adding that his position was influenced by foreign powers and local political collaborators.

Criticism of Igbo Politicians
IPOB also berated what it called the “toothless and spineless Igbo political class,” accusing them of enabling Tinubu to insult and marginalize the region. The group said such leaders would not escape history’s judgment for allegedly betraying their people.

Restating IPOB’s Position
Reaffirming its nonviolent stance, IPOB declared: “We are not Boko Haram, not ISWAP, not Al-Qaeda. We are a people struggling for survival in the face of state-sponsored genocide.”

The group also renewed calls for the release of its leader, Mazi Nnamdi Kanu, who it says is being illegally detained despite multiple court rulings in his favour.

IPOB concluded by urging the international community to take note of what it described as Tinubu’s attempt to “criminalize an entire nation of Igbo people through state propaganda.”

“The struggle for Biafra’s liberation is a just cause rooted in truth, justice, and international law. No amount of blackmail will erase that,” the statement read.