22 October 2026 3:28 am WAT
From Stanley Uzoaru, Owerri
The Indigenous People of Biafra (IPOB) has said the arraignment of five suspects over the abduction of 20 prospective National Youth Service Corps (NYSC) members in Imo State has vindicated the group.
In a press statement issued on Tuesday by its Media and Publicity Secretary, Emma Powerful, IPOB said the arrest and arraignment by the Department of State Services (DSS) has exposed the invasion of Igboland by foreign bandits.
The suspects arraigned are Usman Aliyu, Babangida Aliyu, Mohammed Ali, Aminu Haliru and Ibrahim Jiji, who were allegedly responsible for the abduction along the Owerri-Onitsha Expressway.
IPOB described the incident as symptomatic of the alarming extent to which Fulani bandits and foreign criminal elements have infiltrated forests, bushes and highways in the South East.
The group said had the suspects not been caught, the Nigerian security apparatus and hostile media would have blamed Biafra agitators and the Eastern Security Network (ESN), adding that innocent Igbo youths would have been rounded up and tagged ESN terrorists.
IPOB maintained that the revelation confirms that IPOB and ESN have no hand in criminality in the South East, stressing that ESN was formed solely to defend farmers and territorial integrity against invaders.
The group, however, commended the DSS Director in Imo State and the prosecuting team for upholding professional integrity by not attributing the incident to IPOB/ESN.
It called for thorough uncovering of the ethnicity, true origins,;and full identities of the suspects and for South East governors to prioritise genuine security measures.
IPOB added that the incident validates the foresight of its leader, Mazi Nnamdi Kanu, who established ESN to safeguard forests against threats.
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