The Indigenous People Of Biafra elders forming the Supreme Council has on Wednesday withdrawn support and affiliation to the Niger Delta Avengers and the Movement for the Actualisation of the Sovereign State of Biafra, MASSOB.
The group through its Deputy Chairman, Dr. Dozie Ikedife in a statement issued during a press conference yesterday in Nnewi, Anambra State said “preachers of violence might be infants or non-existent during the 30-month Nigerian Civil War”.
Ikedife said: “The IPOB group I belong to is governed by the Supreme Council of Elders. There is a faction led by Nnamdi Kanu that abuses the elders, preaches violence and ethnic hatred.
“We do not believe in that. The MASSOB led by Ralph Uwazuruike from its inception preaches non-violence based on the philosophy of the late Indian leader, Mahatma Ghandi.
“If the militants have been blowing up pipelines, I don’t see how my group that has been following legal and diplomatic process will align with them. We have quite a different philosophy and modus operandi towards the issue of self-determination.
“The two factions of the IPOB and the two factions of MASSOB are all talking about self-determination of the indigenous people of Biafra. But their approach is not the same”.
He further stated: “The aim may be one but the method differs. We have not and cannot depart from dialogue, legal and diplomatic process and of course you know we are in court with the Federal Government over this issue of self-determination”.
