IPOB Accuses Orji Uzor Kalu of Collusion in Nnamdi Kanu’s Detention, Rejects Death Toll Claims

The Indigenous People of Biafra (IPOB) has issued a scathing rebuttal to recent comments made by Senator Orji Uzor Kalu, accusing him of spreading misinformation and conspiring with President Bola Tinubu’s administration to isolate their leader, Nnamdi Kanu, in a Sokoto prison.

The group’s response follows Kalu’s appearance in an interview where he claimed that Kanu’s separatist activism had led to the deaths of 30,000 people in the Southeast. Kalu, a former governor of Abia State and current senator representing Abia North, attributed the region’s human and economic losses to the unrest associated with IPOB’s activities.

In a statement released on Tuesday, IPOB’s spokesperson, Emma Powerful, dismissed Kalu’s remarks as “baseless fabrications” and accused him of being part of a broader political agenda aimed at discrediting the group and its leadership.

“Senator Orji Uzor Kalu’s claims are not only false but part of a calculated smear campaign,” the statement read. “The IPOB movement has remained peaceful, even in the face of brutal crackdowns, abductions, and extrajudicial killings carried out by state-backed forces.”

The group further alleged that the violence and instability in the Southeast have been orchestrated by elements within the Nigerian government and certain political figures from the region, whom they accuse of using insecurity as a tool to malign IPOB and its security wing, the Eastern Security Network (ESN).

IPOB also emphasized its longstanding call for an independent investigation into the violence in the Southeast, claiming that the government has consistently blocked such efforts to shield those truly responsible.

The statement went on to accuse Kalu of historical abuses during his tenure as governor, alleging that he sanctioned extrajudicial killings through the use of vigilante groups. IPOB described his time in office as a period marked by economic stagnation and human rights violations.

The group concluded by warning against what it sees as a coordinated attempt to rewrite the narrative around its struggle, asserting that its commitment to non-violence remains unchanged despite ongoing persecution.