IPOB-Trump Rally: Justice Yet To Be Served One Year After Brutal Killings, Torture And Detention Of Members

By Chukwuemeka Chimerue || Chief Editor, The Biafra Times

January 22, 2018

PORT HARCOURT— Victims of the Friday, 20th January, 2017, Donald Trump solidarity rally in the capital city of Port Harcourt, Rivers State by family members of the Indigenous People of Biafra, IPOB, have cried out for justice one year after the unwholesome massacre, toture and illegal detention that characterised the event.

It can be recalled that the solidarity rally organised by IPOB for the inauguration of the then US President-elect, Donald Trump in Port-Harcourt, turned bloody as members of the Nigerian combined security forces, violently went after unarmed agitators who are only carrying and waving Biafran, American and Israeli flags and disrupted the peaceful procession.

IPOB’s support for Trump, according to one of the victims who recently spoke with our Correspondent, was born out of the belief that he will be sympathetic and supportive to their cause of creating an independent state for the Biafra nation, and securing the release of their hitherto detained leader Nnamdi Kanu, whom until April last year, was incarcerated by the Nigerian government since October 2015.

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However, after the violence and monstrosity unleashed on IPOB by Nigerian security operatives, they left in their trail, eleven dead Biafrans which later rose to twenty as events unfolded, with over 63 of its members detained in various prison facilities across the State.

Media personnel were not exempted in the brutal attack as a journalist working with The Authority Newspaper, Mr. Willy Etim, reported that his camera was destroyed by a soldier during the IPOB rally, adding that he was also hit with the butt of the gun.

According to a statement issued by IPOB’s Media and Publicity Secretary, Comrade Emma Powerful, the barbaric attack was carried out by the police, the army and the Department of State Services, beside First Artillery junction, Port-Hacourt.

“They have attacked our people; 20 have been confirmed dead, many others have bullet wounds”, he claimed in the statement.

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However, a year after, surviving victims of the terror attack, have neither obtained justice nor has U.S President Donald Trump publicly condemned the mayhem unleashed on peaceful and defenseless Biafrans even as some of them are yet to fully recuperate from the injuries sustained during the attack.

An IPOB member(name withheld) who sustained various degrees of injuries during the rally, regretted that the US President is yet to speak out against the violent attack which claimed a lot of lives even as he noted that the Nigerian security agencies are still in the business of killing and detaining innocent and unarmed agitators in the country.

He lamented that the IPOB leader, Nnamdi Kanu is still missing at the instance of the Nigerian army after last year’s military operation dubbed “Operation Python Dance.”

“It was a very terrible and harrowing experience during our Trump solidarity peaceful rally at the beginning of last year to mark his swearing-in ceremony as the 45th US President.

“A lot of us were killed and severely injured during the rally. I lost some of my colleagues to the cold hands of the Nigerian army. Many of our people were detained. And since then, apart from the Amnesty International who condemned the killings, the perpetrators of these crimes has not been brought to book,” he said.

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Another victim identified as Chigozie Okoroafor who sustained a leg injury and also one of those detained, called on the world leaders to, as a matter of urgency, interfere in the inhumane treatment and subjugation of Biafrans in Nigeria.

According to him, “We are no longer looking at the already compromised judicial system in Nigeria because we know that justice can never be served

“Nigeria is not a country where the oppressed and manhandled people can easily get justice because the powers that be can never allow such to happen. That is why we always appeal to international community to intervene in our situation. Biafrans are sick and tired of Nigeria and they are set to break loose any moment from now.”

Meanwhile, following the killings that marred the event during the event last year, one of the leaders of IPOB in Igweocha, who identified himself as Amaechi Okoroafor, said no amount of intimidation, killings and arrest would stop Biafra’s independence, including the proscription of IPOB.

He expressed regret on the action of security agents, adding that the shooting was not necessary since the rally was peaceful.

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Describing Biafra as a formidable force that cannot be stopped by the action of Federal Government, the IPOB leader said, “I am a Biafran from Abia State in Biafraland. Last year January 20, we embarked on a solidarity rally in support of Donald Trump and our leader, Nnamdi Kanu.

“We are on a 21 million-man-march protest. The Federal Government has been disturbing us. By His grace, we are formidable and no amount of killing and arrest, not even the proscription of IPOB, will stop us from agitating for Biafra. We will continue to support our leader, Nnamdi Kanu and Trump.”

However, after the brutal and irrational killing of number of unarmed agitators, the Nigerian security agencies continued to deny the unfortunate incident and refused to accept the responsibility of its activities despite an official report from an international human rights body, Amnesty International, detailing the analysis of the heinous killings of defenseless Biafra citizens by the combined team of the Nigerian security operatives.

As the brutal killings, molestation, intimidation, torture and unlawful detention of Biafrans languishing in various detention facilities across Nigeria, the question on the lips of many is when will justice be served on the oppressed people of Biafra?

The Biafra Times
Publisher: Chijindu Benjamin Ukah
Contact us: [email protected]

Jerusalem: IPOB backs Trump, U.S...congratulates Israel

December 9, 2017

IPOB Press Statement

In 1995, the US congress passed a law called the “Jerusalem Embassy Act. The law required the U.S. to move the embassy from Tel Aviv to Jerusalem by a set deadline, but conceded that the move could be put off for six months at a time as long as the President “determines and reports to Congress in advance that such suspension is necessary to protect the national security interests of the United States.

From Bill Clinton to George W. Bush to Barack Obama, no US president has had the guts to enforce that law until a few days ago. Many people do not even know that president Donald J. Trump was only enforcing a law that the US congress had given their presidents green light to act on since 1995. The media will never tell you this. By taking action when and where others couldn’t, President Donald J. Trump has become the living hero of American democracy.

Many may be upset that he did what he did, but we the Indigenous People of Biafra (IPOB) are ecstatic. It is a thing of great joy and a refreshing reminder that our world still has the regenerative capacity to birth transformational leadership.

We salute you, Mr. President. Thank you for recognizing Jerusalem as the eternal capital of Israel, and thank you most of all for the plans to move the US embassy from Tel Aviv to Jerusalem. We believe that many more countries will emulate your courageous act, and we also hope that soon, very soon, the Republic of Biafra will be born out of wanton repression, and we will become Israel’s strongest ally on the African continent with a beautiful embassy in the holy city of Jerusalem. Habakkuk 2:3: For the vision is yet for an appointed time, but at the end it shall speak, and not lie: though it tarry, wait for it; because it will surely come, it will not tarry.”


By what you have done, Mr. Donald J. Trump as American President, have shown that courageous leadership is not predicated on public opinion or political correctness, but on justice, equity and fairness. Every right-thinking person who is not blinded by parochial ethnocentric biases will agree with you. We believe that what is right is right and what is wrong is wrong. And for those who have sworn to make this world a living hell for truth, justice and equity, read Isaiah 48:22: There is no peace, saith the LORD, unto the wicked. And so we say “wait, your karma is on the way.”

Once again, Mr. President, the Indigenous People of Biafra (IPOB) say, congratulations. We stand shoulder to shoulder with you. Shalom.

Emma Powerful,
Media & Publicity Secretary of Indigenous People Of Biafra (IPOB).

Biafra: Trump officially recognizes Jerusalem as Israel's capital, orders embassy move for US

December 7, 201

• President Trump: Jerusalem is the  capital of Israel
• President announces efforts to move U.S. embassy from Tel Aviv to Jerusalem

President Trump on Wednesday formally recognized Jerusalem as Israel's capital, saying it's time to "acknowledge the obvious" as he ordered the State Department to begin moving the U.S. Embassy from Tel Aviv to Jerusalem.

“I have determined that it is time to officially recognize Jerusalem as the capital of Israel,” the president said during a speech in the Diplomatic Reception Room of the White House.

The move fulfills a campaign promise made to religious conservatives. But it could also inflame tensions across the Middle East.

“This is nothing more or less than a recognition of reality," Trump said. "It is also the right thing to do. It’s something that has to be done.”

'I have determined that it is time to officially recognize Jerusalem as the capital of Israel.'
- President Trump
Trump acknowledged the opposition from other countries in the Middle East to his decision, saying Vice President Mike Pence will be “traveling to the region” in the coming days.

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“There will of course be disagreement and dissent regarding this announcement,” Trump said. “But we are confident that ultimately, as we work through these disagreements, we will arrive at a peace and place far greater in understanding and cooperation.”

WHY TRUMP’S PROMISE TO MOVE U.S. EMBASSY TO JERUSALEM IS SO CONTROVERSIAL

During his remarks, Trump emphasized he is still committed to a peace deal between the two sides.

“This decision is not intended in any way to reflect a departure from our strong commitment to facilitate a lasting peace agreement," he said. "We want an agreement that is a great deal for the Israelis and a great deal for the Palestinians.”

The U.S. would be the first country to move its embassy to Jerusalem, which is claimed by both Israelis and Palestinians. Other countries that have diplomatic relations with Israel keep their embassies in Tel Aviv.

U.S. Ambassador to the United Nations Nikki Haley told Fox News' "The Story with Martha MacCallum" that Trump's decision was "acknowledging something that’s common sense to everyone."

Insight from the United States ambassador to the United Nations on 'The Story.'Video
Nikki Haley on the decision to move US embassy to Jerusalem

"The [Knesset] is there, the prime minister is there, the Supreme Court -- that is the capital," Haley said. "And by us putting the embassy there, that’s a U.S. decision."

But the embassy move would not be immediate and could take at least three or four years.

The U.S. officials said there are currently about 1,000 personnel in the embassy in Tel Aviv. They added that there is no facility in Jerusalem ready to serve as the embassy site, and it will take time to address security, design and cost concerns.

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“This will immediately begin the process of hiring architects, engineers and planners so that a new embassy when completed will be a magnificent tribute to peace,” Trump said.

Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu, in a televised message, thanked Trump for what he called a “courageous and just” decision.

“This decision reflects the president’s commitment to an ancient but enduring truth,” Netanyahu said. “The president’s decision is an important step toward peace, for there is no peace that doesn’t include Jerusalem as the capital of Israel.”

He stressed there would be no change in the status quo at the holy sites and Israel will ensure “freedom of worship” for all faiths.

Ahead of the announcement, Trump spoke Tuesday with Palestinian President Mahmood Abbas, Jordanian King Abdullah and Netanyahu.

Abbas has warned of the “gravity of consequences” should the move become official for “the peace process and security and stability in the region and world.”

"Courage doesn’t come by doing what everybody else says," Haley told Fox News Wednesday night. "Courage comes by doing what you know is right. This is the right thing to do and what the president’s doing is he’s showing leadership."

The controversy surrounding the move of the embassy dates back decades. A law passed in 1995 under the Clinton administration considers Jerusalem the capital, and even mandates the move of the embassy there.

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But the law allows for a loophole used by former Presidents Bill Clinton, George W. Bush and Barack Obama – an option to issue waivers every six months to delay the move from Tel Aviv.

Trump also took advantage of the loophole, which Republicans have long called to be closed. Trump’s first waiver was signed in June, which drew praise from the Palestinians and some disappointment from Israel.

The administration officials said Tuesday that Trump will still sign a waiver to keep from jeopardizing State Department funding while the relocation process begins.

Source: Fox News

The Biafra Times
Publisher: Chijindu Benjamin Ukah
Contact us: [email protected]