IPOB Rejects DSS Allegation of WASSCE Kidnap Plot, Says Claims Are Designed to Tarnish ESN's Image

The Indigenous People of Biafra (IPOB) has rejected allegations that its security arm, the Eastern Security Network (ESN), planned to abduct candidates participating in the ongoing West African Senior School Certificate Examination (WASSCE) in the South-East.

The group also accused the Department of State Services (DSS) and sections of the media of orchestrating what it described as a smear campaign aimed at linking ESN to criminal activities in the region.

In a statement issued on Thursday, IPOB's Media and Publicity Secretary, Comrade Emma Powerful, dismissed reports of a foiled ESN plot against WASSCE candidates as fabricated and intended to discredit the organisation.

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According to him, the alleged suspects and weapons displayed by security operatives were part of a carefully choreographed effort to create a false narrative against the group.

"IPOB has consistently maintained that it does not target innocent civilians, schoolchildren or examination candidates," Powerful said, insisting that the movement's struggle remains focused on self-determination and freedom from what it considers oppression and marginalisation.

He maintained that the Eastern Security Network was established solely to protect communities in the South-East from criminal attacks and insecurity.

Powerful further alleged that the timing of the accusations was not coincidental, claiming they were designed to divert public attention from ongoing legal proceedings involving IPOB leader, Nnamdi Kanu.

Whenever there are significant developments in Kanu's case, the government and security agencies, he claimed, resort to "propaganda and manufactured allegations" against the group.

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Describing the latest claims as "another desperate attempt to mislead the public," Powerful argued that the allegations were meant to distract Nigerians from issues surrounding Kanu's appeal.

He also recalled what IPOB described as previous efforts to intimidate its leader, contending that the latest accusations followed a familiar pattern.

Reaffirming the group's position, the spokesman said IPOB had no reason to target students or disrupt educational activities in the South-East.

"The Eastern Security Network remains resolute and unwavering in defending our ancestral land from marauding Fulani killer-herdsmen and other existential threats," he stated.

Powerful urged security agencies to channel their resources towards combating armed banditry and violent crimes across the country, rather than pursuing what he termed a propaganda campaign against ESN.

He further accused authorities of deploying arrests, planted evidence, and ethnic profiling as tools to weaken the Biafra restoration movement and justify Kanu's continued detention.

The group called on the international community, human rights organisations, and other stakeholders to scrutinise the allegations against ESN and focus instead on the legal issues raised in Kanu's appeal.

Concluding the statement, Powerful declared that attempts to undermine the movement would not succeed.

"The Biafran spirit is unbreakable," he said. "Every fabrication strengthens our resolve, and every distraction accelerates our victory."