Governor Charles Soludo of Anambra State has come under fire from the Indigenous People of Biafra (IPOB) following his recent comments suggesting that Igbo youths are predominantly behind the surge in kidnappings across the South-East.
Speaking at an event with Anambra indigenes in Maryland, USA, Soludo reportedly stated that almost all kidnapping suspects arrested in the state were Igbos, not Fulani herders as widely believed.
His remarks have since sparked outrage from IPOB, which described them as reckless utterances capable of provoking targeted persecution of innocent young people in the region.
In a statement released on Thursday, IPOB’s Media and Publicity Director, Emma Powerful, argued that the governor’s claims were both misleading and dangerous, warning that such public declarations could embolden security operatives and alleged Fulani militia groups to carry out indiscriminate arrests and attacks against Igbo youths under the guise of combating crime.
IPOB maintained that rather than protecting his people, Soludo’s rhetoric risks worsening their vulnerability in an already tense security climate.
“The Indigenous People of Biafra (IPOB), under the leadership of our indomitable and unlawfully detained leader, Mazi Nnamdi Kanu, wishes to draw the urgent attention of the global community, the diplomatic corps, international human rights organisations, and all lovers of truth and justice to the latest reckless, inflammatory, and genocidally provocative comments by the Governor of Anambra State, Professor Charles Chukwuma Soludo,” the statement partly read.
It added, “This public utterance, made without an iota of investigative backing, has now become the green light for the Nigerian security agencies and Fulani-sponsored terror militias to commence another round of massacre and abductions of innocent youths across the South-East.”
IPOB claimed that Soludo’s comments were dangerous and could justify extrajudicial killings, illegal arrests, and mass raids in the name of security operations.
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“We ask the world: What kind of leader, in the face of rampant Fulani herdsmen invasions and military atrocities against his people, turns around to accuse his own youths without evidence?” it added.
IPOB has lashed out at Governor Charles Soludo, alleging that his recent remarks about kidnappings in Anambra were driven by his desire to curry favour with Nigeria’s political establishment rather than protect his own people.
The separatist group argued that Soludo’s claims – which appear to portray Igbo youths as responsible for the region’s spate of abductions – lack any basis in verified investigation or judicial conviction. According to IPOB, such unfounded narratives only serve to endanger innocent lives by creating a climate of suspicion and legitimising state crackdowns on young people in the South-East.
They further criticised the governor for what they described as his inconsistency on the issue of Nnamdi Kanu’s freedom. Despite publicly supporting calls for Kanu’s release in the past, IPOB accused Soludo of failing to use his position to push meaningfully for their leader’s liberation since assuming office.
Reinforcing their stance as a peaceful self-determination movement, IPOB called on residents across Anambra and the wider region to remain discerning about political agendas that threaten to divide or weaken their collective resolve.