Aloy Ejimakor, the lead counsel to the leader of the Indigenous People of Biafra, IPOB, Nnamdi Kanu, on Saturday, reacted to reports that the group is funded through sports betting and crowd-funding.
He described such claims as false and laughable.
The Nigerian Financial Intelligence Unit, NFIU, had earlier asserted that global crowdfunding, online transactions, and sports betting fund terrorist organizations in Nigeria including like Boko Haram, ISWAP, IPOB, bandits, and other such groups. Recall that the Nigerian Government had proscribed IPOB, labelling it a terrorist group.
In its newsletter, NFIU allegedly revealed how IPOB and Eastern Security Network, ESN, received funds through affiliates in 22 countries that have registered at least 27 entities under the group’s name.
The financial unit said seven of the registrations were made in the United States, while six were in the United Kingdom.
It added that over $160,000 raised by IPOB through crowd-funding was funneled to transmission, media, and broadcasting companies in Bulgaria, South Africa, and the UK.
Condemning the report, Ejimakor said somebody was fishing in troubled waters. In a statement on his Twitter (X) account, he wrote: “It’s incredible to claim that the IPOB (which is LEGAL globally) is funded through sports-betting & crowd-funding. The sports-betting part is false & laughable.
“The crowd-funding part sounds like #GoFundMe which has never happened. Someone is fishing in troubled waters. #FreeMNK”
