The Indigenous People of Biafra (IPOB) has slammed the Sultan of Sokoto, Alhaji Saiad Abubakar Muhammadu, for characterizing the social media in Nigeria as “a terrorist organization” and demanding its criminalization.
In a statement issued by the self-determination group’s Media and Publicity Secretary, Comrade Emma Powerful, IPOB argued that Sultan Muhammadu’s ‘outburst’ stemmed from a “guilty conscience”, otherwise “as the saying goes, a clear conscience has nothing to fear from accusations.”
“There’s another saying that an evil person flees even when no one is pursuing him,” IPOB chided in the statement by Powerful.
“The absurd remark by the Islamic leader in Nigeria, the Sultan of Sokoto and a Fulani grand patron, indicates that he is in a state of panic regarding the revelations about Fulani terrorists’ actions through the social media.
“The unyielding and violent attacks by Fulani terrorists have plunged numerous Nigerians, especially within the Christian communities, into a state of deep sorrow. The Fulani terrorists have taken the lives of thousands in Nigeria over the past 10years.”
The pro-Biafra group accused the Sultan of “regrettable support for the aggressive tendencies of the Fulani”, having “never denounced the violence, kidnappings and killings perpetrated by the Fulani against indigenous populations across Nigeria.”
“(We guess that the Sultan) is simply worried that the victims are utilizing the social media to reveal to the world who the actual terrorists are,” IPOB further chided, accusing “Fulani groups led by the Sultan of Sokoto and the Islamic governments in Nigeria” of either intimidating or co-opting the mainstream media “to characterize the Fulani terrorist attacks and land seizures as conflicts between herders and farmers.”
“Furthermore, they have labeled the Fulani terrorists as bandits merely to mislead some uninformed Nigerians and trick the International Community,” IPOB further argued.
According to the IPOB, part of the Sultan’s discomfort is that “he and his Fulani factions” did not reckon with how IPOB’s “active involvement and awareness-raising among other native ethnic groups via the social media have begun to produce outcomes.”
“Presently, communities across Nigeria have recognized the Fulani invaders as those causing terror throughout the whole country and not social media platforms,” the self-determination group stressed.
“The social media has provided numerous professionals with opportunities for socio-economic partnerships, empowerment and growth.
“Social media has helped numerous Nigerian youths to escape poverty and unemployment that the ineffective governments in the country failed over the years to address.
“Social media is neither an individual nor a collective that the Sultan would label a terrorist organization.
“The Sultan may choose to ignore reality, but both Nigerians and the International Community are aware that the Fulani terrorist groups pose a danger to all societies. Social media has only played the role of recognizing the foes of humanity.”
