Kanu’s trial: Again, IPOB slams DSS, urges Service to face challenge of defending its actions in court, not resort to slew of media disinformation
The Indigenous People of Biafra (IPOB) has urged the Department of State Services (DSS), along with “their collaborators in gutter journalism” to face the challenge of defending, in court, its actions with regard to the “unlawful detention” of its leader, Mazi Nnamdi Kanu, since June 2021, instead of resorting to what the self-determination group referred to as the security organisation’s acts of media disinformation “on the eve of every crucial court appearance by our leader.”
In a statement issued this morning – Tuesday, May 20 – by its Media and Publicity Secretary, Comrade Emma Powerful, IPOB decried the tendency by the nation’s secret police to, “on the eve of every crucial court appearance by our leader, spring into action to flood the media space with toxic lies, manufactured arrests, Simon Ekpa trial and phantom IPOB camps.”
“Ahead of Mazi Nnamdi Kanu’s court hearing on 21 May 2025, the Nigerian media ecosystem—led by government-aligned outlets like the BBC and certain Lagos and Abuja tabloids—has predictably returned to its old playbook: recycling long-dead stories about Simon Ekpa, a Finland-based self confessed content creator with no organic link to IPOB,
resurrecting discredited security reports to deflect attention from the fact that DSS has no case and no credible witness, and trying to create the false impression of factionalism in IPOB to mislead the public and discredit our legal fight for justice,” IPOB chided.
“Let it be stated clearly, for the umpteenth time, (that) IPOB has no faction and no rival leadership. The only recognised leader of IPOB is Mazi Nnamdi Kanu, whose unparalleled courage, sacrifice, and legitimacy are unmatched. Simon Ekpa, a YouTube activist whose courtroom cowardice in Finland betrays his lack of commitment, is neither a leader of IPOB nor affiliated with our internal command structure.”
Warning against what it described as “desperate attempts by DSS and their compromised media allies to forge a link between IPOB’s internal matters and Simon Ekpa’s self-serving theatrics”, IPOB sneered that “just like every other psychological operation they have attempted since 2015,” the DSS will again fail in its “evil” designs against the pro-Biafra group this time around.”
“While they parade paid editorial mercenaries masquerading as journalists, IPOB remains focused on the legal battle for the unconditional release of Mazi Nnamdi Kanu, whose extraordinary rendition remains a stain on Nigeria’s international image and legal system,” IPOB said in the statement by Powerful.
“As 21 May (tomorrow) approaches, we alert the global community and the diplomatic corps to expect a flurry of fake news and planted reports meant to muddy the waters. The Nigerian state is aware that its so-called witness will be exposed under cross-examination, and as usual, they are seeking a media smokescreen to deflect public attention.
“To the DSS and your media hirelings: we are not distracted. You cannot bury the truth with lies. You cannot break IPOB with propaganda. And you will never succeed in rewriting history.”
“Let the world judge us not by your lies, but by our resilience,” the group surmised.
