A special counsel to the leader of the Indigenous People of Biafra (IPOB), Aloy Ejimakor on Monday speaks on the group being ranked as the tenth deadliest terrorist group in the world.
It was earlier reported that the rating was released by the Global Terrorism Index (GTI) of the Institute for Economics & Peace (IEP), based in Australia.
Ejimakor, in a statement made available to this platform condemned the rating which has stirred reactions, describing it as false.
Kanu’s lawyer wrote, “A few days ago, several news outlets published a story to the effect that the Indigenous People of Biafra (IPOB) has been ranked the deadliest terrorist group in the world by the Global Terrorism Index (GTI) of the Institute for Economics & Peace (IEP), based in Australia.
“Many other persons known to me, especially in America, including particularly the American Military Veterans of Igbo Descent (AVID), which is based in America collaborated with me in formally protesting the alleged ranking to the GTI branch office in New York, USA. What we sought was simply a clarification to the effect that there was no such ranking or that the GTI Report was misleading.
Apparently, in response to these formal protestations and the quantum public condemnations, the GTI (IEP) earlier today reconsidered and published a clarification that did not state, imply or even suggest indirectly that it ranked IPOB as the 10th terrorist group in the world.
The clarification released by GTI states, “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.”
Ejimakor further stated, “In the interest of balanced reporting and as of a right of reply, I hereby request all media outlets which had previously published the story of the ranking to also publish this Press Release. The same request is made to media outlets which might not have published it previously.”
The said clarification can be accessed directly from the GTI (IEP) website.
