The separatist group urged Italy to stop the sale of air force jets to Africa’s most populous country over flagrant violations of the human rights of indigenous people and communities in Nigeria.
The Indigenous People of Biafra (IPOB) has asked the Italian government to place an arms embargo on Nigeria.
The separatist group urged Italy to stop the sale of air force jets to Africa’s most populous country over flagrant violations of the human rights of indigenous people and communities in Nigeria.
This is contained in a statement issued by IPOB Media and Publicity Secretary, Emma Powerful, who said that the call to stop further sale of military hardware and software to Nigeria extends to all civilised nations.
Powerful said, “The Nigerian government has created the terrorist groups that they are pretending to have been fighting in order to displace indigenous nations and allow individuals in power to loot the country's funds.
“Therefore, we appeal to the Italian government to stop the military aircraft purchase deal they entered into with the Nigerian government.
“We also ask other countries considering selling arms to Nigeria to stop because Nigeria is not using the arms for their intended purposes.”
He stated that “IPOB has no intention to interfere with the Italian Government's business but wants to inform them that the Nigeria military has not used the previously acquired arms and ammunition including fighter jets to fight terrorists who operate in the open in Northern Nigeria but have targeted innocent and peaceful people”.
“Unarmed IPOB members have also been the victims of Nigerian military's brutality,” Powerful said. “Some of the Internally Displaced People's (IDP) Camps in Nigeria have been intentionally bombed by the Nigeria military to prevent the displaced persons from returning to their communities already ceded to the terrorists as their own.”
He said, “Recently, an Okuama Community in Delta State, Nigeria, was invaded, bombed, and the entire community displaced by the Nigerian military. The Nigerian government and her military are known for human rights violations and genocide against her civilians.”
The IPOB spokesperson further stated: “In 2021, the Nigerian Air Force bought "12" A-29 Super Tucano Jets from the United States of America to fight terrorism in Nigeria.
“After the delivery of those fighter jets, they were deployed in the Eastern region of the country and were used in bombing of Igbo villages and their people mostly in Orlu Local Government Area of Imo State.
“From the day the Tucano jets arrived in Nigeria in 2021 till late 2023, they were never used against terrorists but were consistently used in the bombing of innocent people in Imo State in the Eastern part of the country that is Biafra land and also in the bombing of IDP camps in the North who are victims of Boko Haram terrorist attacks.”
IPOB urged the Italian government to “halt the sale of jets to the Nigerian government because their fight against terrorism is a hoax”.
“The Italian government should not fall into the Nigerian government's deception,” he said.
“Any supply of arms and ammunition to the Nigerian government is a tacit support to human rights abuse and violations. The Italian government and her citizens are civilized and should not support any government that is violating the fundamental human rights of her citizens.
“We are calling on the Italian Prime Minister, Ms. Giorgia Meloni, to place an arms embargo on the Nigerian government for their history of bombing civilian populations and for human rights violations,” he added.
Follow the Sahara Reporters channel on WhatsApp: https://whatsapp.com/channel/0029VaFClvtH5JM6SSsP7M2Y