The Institute for Economics and Peace has retracted their statement of ranking the Indigenous People of Biafra (IPOB) as a terrorist group.
The Institute openly admitted its error in profiling IPOB as the 10th deadliest terror group in the world in its Global Terrorism Index.
Recall that GTI report which was published on March 15, ranked IPOB among the top 10 deadliest terror groups in the world, accusing the group of being responsible for 40 attacks and 57 deaths in 2022.
The institute has now retracted its earlier report, they now refer to IPOB as a pro-Biafra secessionist movement and not a terrorist group.
According to the statement which they titled, “Statement regarding Indigenous People of the Biafra (IPOB) & the Global Terrorism Index”, the institute called IPOB a pro-Biafra secessionist movement based in Southeast Nigeria that aims to establish an independent state of Biafra.
The statement reads, “The Indigenous People of Biafra (IPOB) is a pro-Biafra secessionist movement based in Southeast Nigeria that aims to establish an independent state of Biafra.”
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“IPOB was proscribed as a terrorist group by the Nigerian government in 2017. In recent years, IPOB has been linked to several attacks, which have been attributed to its paramilitary wing, the Eastern Security Network (IPOB-ESN). The group has not claimed responsibility for any of these attacks.”
“It is important therefore to differentiate between the peaceful activities of the group and its alleged involvement in violent activity. We have today updated the Global Terrorism Index 2023 to reflect this necessary clarification.”
Institute for Economics & Peace
27 March, 2023
