IPOB to CDS : Stop intimidating Biafrans, Canada which denied you visa recognises us

The Indigenous People of Biafra (IPOB) has sharply criticised Nigeria’s Chief of Defence Staff, General Christopher Musa, accusing him and the Nigerian Army of attempting to suppress Biafran activists and infringe on their rights to free speech through intimidation on social media.

In a statement released on April 25, 2025, and signed by its Media and Publicity Secretary, Emma Powerful, IPOB pointed out that even Canada — which recently denied Musa a visa — recognises the IPOB family.

The statement read, “The Indigenous People of Biafra (IPOB), under the resolute leadership of Mazi Nnamdi Kanu, unequivocally condemns the brazen and provocative statements by Christopher Musa, Nigeria’s Chief of Defence Staff, who has once again resorted to threatening and intimidating Biafrans for exercising their inalienable rights to free speech and self-determination through social media.

“Musa’s reckless call for Southeasterners to cease propagating IPOB’s activities is not only an affront to our fundamental freedoms but a desperate attempt to silence the awakening of Biafran consciousness. We will not be cowed, and we will not be silenced.”

IPOB further accused the Nigerian Army of longstanding human rights abuses, questioning its moral authority to lecture Biafrans.

“Musa’s Nigerian Army, an institution soaked in the blood of innocent Igbo youths, has no moral standing to lecture Biafrans on what is good for us. This is the same army that has orchestrated relentless massacres of our people since 1966, from the pogroms that claimed over 5 million Igbo lives to the ongoing genocidal campaigns in Biafraland.”

The group referenced historical and recent incidents of violence against Biafrans, including the 2016 Nkpor and Aba killings, and the military invasion of Nnamdi Kanu’s residence during Operation Python Dance.

“We ask Musa: What was the crime of the Biafran youths slaughtered at Nkpor in 2016, a massacre acknowledged by Amnesty International and UN Special Rapporteurs as constituting crimes against humanity? What was the offence of the Igbo youths mowed down at National High School, Aba, or those killed during the Trump solidarity rally in Port Harcourt? What justified the murderous invasion of Mazi Nnamdi Kanu’s residence during Operation Python Dance, where 28 innocent Biafrans, including Kanu’s parents, were killed in cold blood by your forces, orchestrated by your Fulani overlords?”

IPOB also criticised Southeast traditional rulers for granting Musa an audience, accusing them of betrayal.

“Musa, your audacity to spew gibberish on Biafran soil is enabled only by the cowardice of lily-livered traditional rulers who grant you audience to desecrate our land with your presence. Such traditional rulers are unfit to lead and must face the consequences of their betrayal. We hold them in contempt for entertaining an agent of oppression whose hands drip with the blood of our people.”

In addition, the group defended its use of social media in activism, asserting that their efforts have had national significance.

“Let us remind Musa of the undeniable truth: It was IPOB’s social media activism that halted the Fulani RUGA settlement scheme in your own Kaduna village, preserving your people’s right to their ancestral lands. It was IPOB, under Nnamdi Kanu’s leadership, that stopped the Waterways Bill designed to enslave indigenous populations to Fulani hegemony. Instead of gratitude for IPOB’s tireless efforts to protect indigenous peoples across Nigeria from Janjaweed domination, you parade your ignorance, vilifying the very movement that safeguarded your community from perpetual bondage. Shame on you, Musa, for your blindness and ingratitude.”

Reacting to the label of being an unlawful organisation, IPOB dismissed it, arguing that its proscription is politically motivated.

“Your reference to IPOB as ‘unlawful’ is laughable. No nation in the world, except your Fulani-controlled Nigeria, has proscribed IPOB. Even Canada, which rejected your visa application, hosts one of the largest and most vibrant IPOB families globally. Your Fulani masters proscribed IPOB not because we are a threat to peace but because we stand as an unyielding bulwark against their agenda to subjugate Biafrans and other indigenous peoples. You are too myopic to see that IPOB’s activism protects even the likes of you from the very forces you serve.”

IPOB urged its members to ramp up their online activism to advance the cause of Biafran independence.

“We call on all Biafrans to intensify our social media campaign to enlighten our people that Biafran freedom is not just a dream but the ultimate goal of every Southeasterner. Let Musa and his ilk know that IPOB remains undeterred, unbroken, and uncompromising in our pursuit of self-determination. The Nigerian Army’s history of atrocities—from the 1966 pogroms to Operation Python Dance—only strengthens our resolve to break free from this oppressive entity.”

The group also issued warnings to traditional rulers and military authorities.

“To the traditional rulers who entertain agents of genocide, we say: Your time is up. The Biafran people will hold you accountable for betraying our collective struggle. To Musa and the Nigerian Army, we declare: Your intimidation will not bend us. Your massacres will not break us. Biafra will rise, and no force on earth can stop it.”