The Indigenous People of Biafra (IPOB) has warned monarchs, politicians and other stakeholders in the South-East not to sell any portion of land in the region to Fulani herders under the guise of agricultural purposes.
IPOB said any real estate agents having such deals should halt them because they would lose the land permanently, adding that the warning came from the history of how the Hausa people lost their ancestral lands to the Fulani in the 18th century.
This was disclosed in a statement by IPOB spokesperson, Emma Powerful on Wednesday, adding that South-East residents should not embrace RUGA or any related programme
Parts of the statement read, “The Indigenous People of Biafra led by Mazi Nnamdi Kanu who is illegally detained in the DSS custody and solitary confinement in Abuja wish to remind Biafrans, friends of Biafra, lovers of Biafra freedom, all the traditional rulers and President-General in Biafraland to desist from any plan or pressure to sell or hand over our ancestral lands to any government or Fulani agents for any purported agricultural purposes or anything else.
“This warning has become very necessary and is mainly for all Igbo traditional rulers, PGs, politicians, real estate agencies and other political jobbers in Biafraland to desist from any attempt to secretly allocate community lands to Fulani herdsmen in the name of agricultural investment or any project.
“The marauding Fulani are not coming for any agricultural business but rather occupy the land with their cattle and subsequently invite their terrorist relatives from the Sahel to occupy our ancestral lands in their land grabbing agenda.”
According to the separatist group, “Anyone after this warning that goes ahead to sell lands to these invaders, and should bear it in mind that the owner of the sold land will forfeit that land forever. If you have any ongoing negotiations on land sell to the Fulani or their cronies, we advise you to cease forthwith with such arrangements.
“We cannot hand over our ancestral lands to Fulani invaders whose agenda is land grabbing in disguise and violent takeover in future. If you want to understand what we are preventing, study the history of Hausas in the Northern part of Nigeria. Hausas accepted to cohabit with the Fulani from the Sahel in the 18th century.
“We don’t want any RUGA or any such other name they call it in any of our territories. Our people must understand that either free or donations you are going to regret your decision to cede any of our ancestral lands to Fulani for any purpose.”
