SAN FRANCISCO, September 21, (THEWILL) – The Federal Government has identified France as the country where the Indigenous People of Biafra, IPOB, gets bulk of its funding, stating that Nigerians based in that country and other parts of the world were providing financial support to the group.
Addressing journalists after Wednesday’s Federal executive Council, FEC, meeting in Abuja, the Minister of Information and Culture, Lai Mohammed, claimed that IPOB gets the bulk of its funding from sympathisers, both in the country, France and the United Kingdom, which he said is frustrating efforts to stop Radio Biafra.
His words, “We have the records. We know IPOB collects money from many people from diaspora. They collect money from many people in Nigeria they collect money from some foreign countries. This is clear.
“Let me tell you, the financial headquarters is in France. We know but you see, can you as a government stop sending money to your parents? You have to block the sources of finance. That is what I said recently.
“It is incontrovertible that some people in diaspora contribute money to IPOB. Where does he get his money from? We know this as a fact.
“Again, there are a few very knotty diplomatic issues which you need to skip. For instance who does not know that the IPOB internal radio is located in London? We know the diplomatic moves we have been taking and approaching the UK. All the damages it has done but they don’t see it that way. For them it’s about freedom of expression.
“If we have a person in Nigeria openly soliciting arms to come and fight the UK, what would you think of? Would you consider that freedom of expression?
“And this is a country that also has a history. What did IRA do to be labeled a terrorists organisation? They were planting bombs, they were fighting the British army.
“I don’t want any diplomatic row. We know for a fact where the funding is coming from and we are going to stop them but it’s difficult to stop them and we have been working on it and we will not stop.”
Mohammed, who acknowledged that it was clearly within the rights of individuals or groups to seek self-determination, said such pursuit has to be non-violent.
He stated that where any group crosses the national red line by engaging in violence hence “risks being cut to size and that’s exactly what has happened to IPOB”.
