While the Federal Government of Nigeria has proscribed IPOB and labeled it a terrorist organization, the US government, however, said it does not see IPOB as a terrorist organisation.
It said, although US is strongly in support of a peaceful resolution of internal crisis in Nigeria, however, under the United States’ laws, IPOB does not fit in as a terrorist organisation. Recall that the Nigerian army’s Director of Defence Information, Major General John Enenche, had pronounced that IPOB was a terrorist organisation after a reported clash between military personnel and IPOB members in Umuahia, Abia state. Maj.-Gen. Enenche had given reasons for pronouncing IPOB a terrorist organization to include that IPOB members used “stones, molotov cocktails, machetes and broken bottles, among others on a military patrol on Sept. 10, 2017.” Also, the South-East governors had equally proscribed the activities of IPOB in the region after the army’s pronouncement on IPOB. Further on the proscription, the federal government had equally and still insists that IPOB is a terrorist organisIt gave these reasons for backing IPOB’s categorization as a terrorist organisation, maintaining, however, that not even the Fulani herdsmen reported to have clashed with and killed farmers, raped women and destroyed farm lands could be placed on the same level with IPOB which it said had carved out a territory of its own within Nigeria. In fact, the federal government had even said it had begun processes of blocking foreign sources of funding to IPOB. Nigeria had equally accused both the governments of France and the United Kingdom of being in support and as well as funding IPOB’s activities in Nigeria. But the two governments of France and UK denied the allegation. Recall also that barely 24 hours after the Nigerian army pronounced IPOB a terrorist organisation, the President of the Nigerian 8th Senate, Dr. Saraki condemned the n categorisation of IPOB as a terrorist organisation, saying it was unconstitutional.
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