Ipob attacks Niger Delta militant leader Asari for criticising Kanu's call for an election boycott

INDIGENOUS People of Biafra (Ipob) officials have attacked Niger Delta militant Alhaji Asari Dokubo for attacking their leader Nnamdi Kanu for suggesting that the 2019 elections be boycotted unless the federal government offers Biafra a referendum.

Next February, Nigeria goes to the polls and Ipob leader Nnamdi Kanu has urged his supporters and sympathisers in the south east and south-south geo-political zones to shun the elections unless the federal government announces a date for a Biafra referendum. despite being a big supporter of Biafra, Alhaji Dokubo disagrees with this call for a boycott and has publicly castigated Mr Kanu for making the call.

Alhaji Dokubo argued that heeding Mr Kanu’s advice was suicidal since it would be tantamount to empowering those opposed to the Biafra aspirations with resources from the national treasury to frustrate the people’s struggle. He went further to point out that pro-independent agitators in Spain, Ireland and Palestine contested elections and won seats into political offices in a bid to push their agenda rather than boycott general elections in their respective nations.

In a swift response, Ipob's deputy leader Uche Mefor, said the pro-Biafra group was not interested in Dokubo’s lectures on how to achieve its objectives. Picking holes in Alhaji Dokubo’s argument, Mr Mefor said the case of Biafra cannot be compared with all those other locations he cited.

Mr Mefor said: “Whether Catalonia, Scotland, Northern Ireland or Hamas, used elections to control their territories or not, that is their business. Their examples are incongruent and serves no purpose in our circumstance as it stands because on our part, Ipob has taken a decision to use civil disobedience manifesting in so many ways including election boycotts and that we must do.

“We do not believe in the recalibration nor extinguishing of our averred principles on the altar of political expediency and certainly, don’t need any lectures on what or how to go about the path we have chosen. Hamas started by fighting wars, the IRA started by fighting wars and same with Catalonia and even Scotland and this violence gave rise to their attaining political statuses they have today, sop why then are those who claim to be Biafra freedom fighters not fighting like Hamas, IRA, etc if citing them is a standard?”