The Indigenous People of Biafra (IPOB) has sharply criticized what it describes as a “desperate and dishonest” effort by the Federal Government of Nigeria to implicate its leader, Mazi Nnamdi Kanu, in the 2021 murder of Ahmed Gulak, former aide to ex-President Goodluck Jonathan.
In a statement issued by IPOB’s Media and Publicity Secretary, Comrade Emma Powerful, the group accused the government of attempting to divert public attention from what it termed “the disgraceful collapse” of the prosecution’s case against Kanu.
The statement followed Wednesday’s court proceedings at the Federal High Court in Abuja, where a government witness, identified as PW-BBB, tendered a death certificate alleging Gulak was killed by IPOB members for violating a sit-at-home order.
Emma Powerful dismissed the certificate as “having no evidentiary value,” condemning the prosecution’s counsel, Chief Adegboyega Awomolo, SAN, for “unethical” attempts to introduce evidence after closing his examination-in-chief.
IPOB maintained that such actions are aimed at masking the failure of a politically motivated prosecution.
Challenging the prosecution’s narrative, Powerful clarified that IPOB’s 2021 sit-at-home observance took place on Monday, May 31, 2021, while Gulak was murdered on Sunday, May 30 — a full day earlier.
“This timeline alone dismantles the fabricated claim that IPOB had any involvement in his death,” he said, labeling the government’s allegations as “deceitful and criminal.”
IPOB further accused the Nigerian government of weaponizing misinformation and historical revisionism to justify ethnic persecution.
“Drawing parallels to the labeling of the 1966 coup as an “Igbo coup,” the group alleged that the state continues to target the Igbo population under false pretenses.
The pro-Biafran movement reiterated its position that Kanu remains a prisoner of conscience, unlawfully detained in violation of both Nigerian and international laws.
“No amount of lies, death certificates, or courtroom gimmicks will stop the truth. We demand his immediate and unconditional release,” Powerful declared.
Kanu is currently detained by the Department of State Services (DSS) in Abuja, facing charges related to alleged terrorism.
