The Indigenous People of Biafra (IPOB) has refuted claims linking the group to the death of Ahmed Gulak, a former aide to ex-President Goodluck Jonathan, asserting that its members had no involvement in the incident.
In a statement issued on Wednesday, IPOB’s spokesperson, Emma Powerful, emphasized that Gulak was assassinated on Sunday, May 30, 2021—a full day before the group’s declared sit-at-home order, which was observed on Monday, May 31, 2021.
Reacting to recent developments in the trial of IPOB leader, Nnamdi Kanu, Powerful dismissed the relevance of Gulak’s death certificate, which was tendered as evidence by the prosecution. He described the move as a desperate and unethical attempt to bolster a “collapsing” case.
“The so-called death certificate of Ahmed Gulak has no evidentiary value whatsoever in the context of the ongoing trial,” Powerful stated. “The prosecuting counsel, Awomolo SAN, is attempting to reintroduce evidence after closing his examination-in-chief—an unacceptable legal maneuver meant to salvage a failed prosecution.”
According to IPOB, the prosecution’s own witness admitted under oath that there was no investigative report linking Kanu or the group to Gulak’s murder. Powerful urged the media to report objectively and avoid being tools in what he called “a politically motivated prosecution.”
He also drew parallels between the current narrative and what he described as historical attempts to frame the Igbo people for national unrest, including the 1966 coup which was labeled an “Igbo coup” and used as a justification for the civil war.
IPOB maintains that it is being unfairly targeted and framed for incidents of violence in the South East, calling the state’s actions a deliberate strategy of misinformation and persecution.
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