Nigerian Indigenous Nationalities Alliance for Self-determination (NINAS) has, in a strongly worded rebuttal, demanded the retraction of an aspect of ELOMBAH news report that included the secessionist Indigenous Peoples of Biafra (IPOB) as part of the Alliance and its Million-Man March to the 76th United Nations General Assembly (UNGA) in New York on September 14, 2021.
According to NINAS, in a statement issued on September 15, by its Secretary General, Tony Nnadi, “coming amidst the NINAS Million-March to the 76th UNGA, it is imperative that this inexplicable insertion of a violent criminal gang as IPOB into the NINAS fold, which is most damaging to the reputation of NINAS, be remediated as clearly and expressly as the wrong insertion was done.”
NINAS stated that this immediate disclaimer was compelled by a deluge of complaints from embarrassed NINAS Alliance Organizations and Members, “as IPOB with its mutation into the Violent Criminality of ESN and Unknown Gunmen is such a Toxic Liability that NINAS does not wish to be in any form of association with them.”
The rebuttal by NINAS reads as follows:
“Dear Mr Elombah.
“It is shocking that of all the media reports on the NINAS Million-Man to the UN, only elombah.com included IPOB as being a part of the NINAS Alliance. Your story even began with that Falsehood.
“With the numerous disclaimers by NINAS of previous dishonest attempts to associate the Rogue Biafra Franchise called IPOB with NINAS, this one more failed attempt could have been ignored especially since all the Major Newspapers in Nigeria has the story of the NINAS Million-Man March to the UN on their Front Pages, with accurate reports on who NINAS is and what NINAS is doing.
“Nevertheless, a deluge of complaints from embarrassed NINAS Alliance Organizations and Members, compel an immediate Disclaimer as IPOB with its mutation into the Violent Criminality of ESN and Unknown Gunmen is such a Toxic Liability that NINAS does not wish to be in any form of association with them.
“I will request on behalf of NINAS that your media platform IMMEDIATELY retracts that aspect of its story and refer to both previous and this present disclaimer by NINAS.
“Please act urgently so that the NINAS Secretariat will have your retraction handy to help assuage the anger of NINAS Alliance Partners who already ruled out mistake as reason for that terribly wrong and in fact, dangerous inclusion of IPOB.
“Coming amidst the NINAS Million-March to the 76th UNGA, it is imperative that this inexplicable insertion of a violent criminal gang as IPOB into the NINAS fold, which is most damaging to the reputation of NINAS, be remediated as clearly and expressly as the wrong insertion was done.”