In 2017, Peter Obi, then a member of the Peoples Democratic Party (PDP) and later the Labour Party’s presidential candidate in the 2023 elections, openly criticized the Nigerian government’s decision to proscribe the Indigenous People of Biafra (IPOB) as a terrorist organization.
Speaking on Channels TV’s Politics Today on October 1, 2017, Obi argued that IPOB members should not be labeled terrorists. A clip of this interview, now circulating widely on social media, has reignited discussions around his stance.
IPOB, a separatist movement advocating for an independent Biafra carved out of Nigeria’s South-East and parts of the South-South, has been accused of orchestrating violent attacks in the region.
The federal government formally banned the group in 2017, designating it a terrorist organization.
Obi, however, disagreed with that classification.
He stated: “The only thing I disagree with is naming IPOB terrorists. They are not terrorists. Those who took the decision may have information that I don’t have.”
Drawing from his personal experience as a resident of Onitsha, the former Anambra State governor emphasized that IPOB members were ordinary people he encountered daily:
“I live in Onitsha, and I can tell you they are not terrorists. They are people I pass on the road every day.”
He further insisted that IPOB gatherings in his community had never posed any threat: ” meet them and live with them. In fact, I usually see IPOB people gathering, and not one day has there been a threat or molestation or anything from them.”
Mr Obi was a member of the Peoples Democratic Party at the time of the interview.
Mr Peter Obi did not respond to a text message seeking to know if he still maintains his stand against the proscription of IPOB and its designation as a terrorist organisation.
However, GLOBAL TRACKER’s efforts to reach out to Mr. Obi proved abortive as his line not going or responding to text message also.
SOURCE: PREMIUM TIMES