An American academic, Ivan Sheehan has called on the United States government to designate the Indigenous People of Biafra (IPOB) as a terrorist organisation.
Sheehan is the executive director of the school of public and international affairs at the University of Baltimore.
He made this call in an opinion article published in The Washington Times on Monday.
The Nigerian federal government had in 2017 designated the Secessionist group as a terrorist organisation.
The Pro-Biafra group has been accused of being behind violent attacks in the south-east in order to achieve its secession agenda, allegation it has repeatedly denied.
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Speaking on the matter, Sheehan said: “Nnamdi Kanu, IPOB’s leader, is clearly unconcerned. That he feels no need to even disguise his support of terrorism is worrisome,”
“Though IPOB’s principal aim is to restore a breakaway state of Biafra in the southeastern parts of Nigeria, Mr. Kanu’s rhetoric has become increasingly strident, “I don’t want peaceful actualization (of Biafra).”
“Mr. Kanu has said through his Radio Biafra channel, used to project threats, instructions, and propaganda into Nigeria from the safety of London, “If they don’t (give us Biafra), they will die.”
“Neither does Mr. Kanu make idle threats. The December revelation of IPOB’s 50,000 strong-armed paramilitary wing, the Eastern Security Network (ESN), complete with a Swastika-style flag, marked the end to all pretenses of being a peaceful movement.
“What had been largely unspoken was publicly declared. Since then, violent IPOB attacks on both security personnel and civilians have surged by a terrifying 59%; deaths by 344%.”
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He added: “As soon as the designation is applied, no organization that utilizes U.S. currency would be able to legally conduct transactions with the organization. By cutting off IPOB’s funding, the U.S. would weaken the 50,000 strong paramilitary outfit, and provide Nigeria’s security forces room to train their sights squarely on ISIS-affiliated Boko Haram in the Northeast of the country,”
“Counterterrorism operations against Boko Haram have long been assisted by U.S. agencies working in close coordination with the West African government.”
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