- The senior special assistant to the president on diaspora affairs, Abike Dabiri, says it is now easier for the Nigerian authorities to trace IPOB’s sources of funds and block them
- The presidential aide calls on countries linked to IPOB funding to support the Nigerian government in blocking financing for the group
- Dabiri says it is left for financial institutions to stop individuals abroad who may be funding the IPOB
The senior special assistant to the president on diaspora affairs, Abike Dabiri, has disclosed that the federal government has identified more foreign sources where the Indigenous People Biafra (IPOB) gets funding.
Abike Dabiri made the disclosure to the Nigerian Tribune at sideline of the ongoing 72nd session of the United Nations General Assembly (UNGA) in New York.
The presidential aide said the new foreign sources of funds for the pro-Biafra group were more than those earlier traced by the Nigerian government to France and the United Kingdom.
She said since IPOB had been declared a terrorist organisation by the government, it was now easier for the Nigerian authorities to trace the group’s sources of funds and block them.
“These sources of funds have been known for a long time to have been coming from the Diaspora. But I think after proper investigation, Nigeria has always known that the issue has been from abroad, the funding was from abroad," she said.
“But now, the Federal Government has finally nailed it. Knowing is the first line of success. So, now, it is tracing those funds and working with those countries.
“Now that IPOB has been declared a terrorist organisation, it will be easier to block its sources of funding, because, for any terrorist organisation, you need to deal with that.
“It was difficult before. Now that it is a terrorist organisation and you know its funding is coming from abroad, the next step is to block the sources of funding.
“We actually addressed this issue in London, because it was obvious that support was coming from abroad."
Dabiri called on countries linked to sources of funds for IPOB to support the Nigerian government in blocking the funding now that the group had been declared a terrorist organisation.
She however absolved the countries linked to IPOB funding of blame on the grounds that they may not have been aware of the questionable ventures the funds were being used for.
“Two countries have been identified and I believe it is even much more than that. Now that they know, they need to work with Nigeria, to support us and stop another form of terrorism,” she said.
Dabiri however noted that was left for the financial institutions to stop individuals abroad who may be funding the group.
Meanwhile, the United States has declared that it does not consider the Indigenous People of Biafra (IPOB) a terrorist organisation as claimed by Nigeria.
The Punch reports that the status of the agitating organisation was revealed by the spokesperson for the American Embassy in Nigeria, Russell Brooks.
According to Brooks, the US government does not think IPOB is a terrorist group.
The report quoted Brooks as saying further that the US was committed to Nigeria’s unity and would support a peaceful resolution of its crisis.
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