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For members of the secessionist group, Indigenous People of Biafra (IPOB), spreading propaganda on Nigeria’s X (formerly Twitter) under the guise of foreign nationals is one of its ways of fighting a low-level guerilla war with the Nigerian government.
The group’s supporters operate by using profiles of white men, apparently to indicate foreign support, which the group has been seeking for decades.
IPOB was proscribed as a terror organisation by the Federal Government of Nigeria and the South East Governors until October 26, 2023, when a High Court in Enugu ruled otherwise, saying the designation was unconstitutional.
ROUNDCHECK uncovered some IPOB supporters’ handles spreading disinformation on X (formerly Twitter), amplifying stories on sit-at-home enforced on residents in the states by the security arm of the group as well as terrorist attacks in Nigeria.
Research also revealed that these accounts are characterised by large followership, and censuring of politicians, security forces and government.
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Brief On The Nigerian-Biafran War
In 1967, a civil war broke out between the Federal Government of Nigeria and a regional part of the country that secessionists declared Biafra. Also known as the Nigerian-Biafran War, the three-year war erupted when the Governor of Eastern Nigeria, Colonel Chukwuemeka “Emeka” Odumegwu Ojukwu, declared the three states (East-Central, Rivers, and South-Eastern) in the region as independent sovereign states.
However, the Nigerian government under a military regime led by General Yakubu Gowon overpowered the secessionist group to surrender in 1970.
History narrated that the immediate causes of the war included a military coup, a counter-coup, and anti-Igbo pogroms in Northern Nigeria.
How IPOB Emerged
Decades after the military government doused the civil war and reintegrated the Eastern region into Nigeria, nationalist movements to restore the Republic of Biafra emerged.
In 2012, a British Nigerian political activist, Nnamdi Kanu, and Uche Mefor founded a nationalist separatist group, the Indigenous People of Biafra (IPOB), to join one of the various groups advocating for Biafran independence.
Other groups include; the Movement for the Actualization of the Sovereign State of Biafra (MASSOB) and the factional Biafra Zionist Movement (BZM), which emerged in the early 2000s.
Following the labelling of IPOB as a terrorist organization in 2017 under the Nigerian Terrorism Act, the United Kingdom started denying asylum to its members who engaged in human rights abuses, though the U.K. government clarified that IPOB had not been designated as a terrorist organization.
Despite the ban, IPOB and other Biafra separatist groups continued fighting a low-level guerilla conflict in the southeastern part of Nigeria.
IPOB Seemingly Online Propaganda Arm
The self-acclaimed Prime Minister of IPOB, Simon Ekpa has immense influence on his thousands of followers on X (formerly Twitter).
Following recent strife arising from the letter reportedly written by Kanu to order Ekpa to put an end to the sit-at-home proclaimed in Southeast states, ROUNDCHECK observed that Ekpa’s X blue has transformed into one of the means of pushing the IPOB agenda.
On July 28 2023, the information conveyed in the letter ascribed to Kanu stirred a melee on social media among some members of the proscribed group.
In the note, Kanu ordered his self-acclaimed disciple, Ekpa, to desist from calling for further sit-at-home in Abia, Anambra, Ebonyi, Enugu and Imo States where some armed Eastern Security Network men are forcing residents to stay in their houses as a form of protest for the release of their leader, Kanu.
Kanu had been arrested in 2021 by the Department of State Services for terrorism-related charges.
When the written note appeared on the Twitter handle of Kanu’s special counsel, Aloy Ejimakor, Ekpa was quick to counter it, tagging national newspapers such as Vanguard, DailyPost and PremiumTimes.
One of Ekpa’s followers, Holy Obinwa (@OhajiP), who responded to the remarks of one Human Rights Activist, wrote: “Uche Mefor, for u to be against @simon_ekpa that means Simon is doing the right thing for Total libration. ” (sic).
Another follower, Chydon (@engr_cyril) wrote: “I want to thank the finish (Finish) government for their immense support and backup on u despite all the pressure from the zoo. May they continue to walk on the path of truth always. Biafra when restored will never forget their support. Simon Ekpa keep being strong.” (sic)
This further confirmed findings that Ekpa’s followers have a strong attachment to him thereby amplifying his messages tweeted from Finland.
ROUNDCHECK Findings
ROUNDCHECK investigation reveals some Twitter accounts that operate as a machinery of propaganda to promote the IPOB cause.
These account users pose as foreigners to spread disinformation on the social platform.
Analysis shows that these users retweet virtually every tweet by Ekpa, share controversial religious and political articles, condemn other tribes and criticise Nigerian security agencies.
They also make vitriolic remarks about the Federal Government of Nigeria, politicians and governors.
PARTS of these activities contradict X hateful conduct policy.
- False Contents
One of these accounts, mosco white (@white_mosco) operates in this pattern. In 2020, the account shared a photoshopped picture to misinform its over 10k followers that foreign nationals have joined the Biafran struggle for secession.
ROUNDCHECK analysis of the account reveals that it was created in 2017. It mostly shares Ekpa’s tweets alongside news reports on IPOB sit-at-home orders, calls to arms, bandits attacks, etc.
In a tweet on March 10, 2022, the pro-IPOB user claimed the immediate past President of Nigeria, Muhammad Buhari was financing ‘Taliban terrorists in Afghanistan’.
Findings show that the Buhari-led Nigeria government donated $1 million to the Humanitarian Trust Fund for Afghanistan.
According to media reports, Secretary-General of the Organisation of Islamic Cooperation (OIC), Hissein Brahim Taha, disclosed that the fund was to provide humanitarian aid to Afghans facing hardship under the oppressive regime of The Taliban.
ROUNDCHECK found the claim to be misleading.
Analysing The Account
The pro-separatist’s account sharing misleading tweets has a picture of a white man on its display picture.
It claims to be a ‘human rights activist’.
Using Google Image Search on the picture used as the DP of the account, ROUNDCHECK found out that the image does not appear on the internet.
Further analysis reveals that the user composed only 500 posts (i.e. Media, including photos and videos), shared over 22,000 tweets and retweets and over 59,000 likes on posts promoting IPOB succession and other posts.
ROUNDCHECK further findings revealed similar X handlers using foreigner’s pictures as display pictures.
2. Using Tom Cruise Image
One of such account, Nelson Splendid (@NelsonSplendid1) tacitly propagates IPOB agenda to its over 4,000 followers.
Created in 2021, the account user currently has a white man’s picture on its display picture. It noted on its profile that it ‘Stand for Biafra Freedom’.
Analysing The Account
Google Lens reveals that the image on the pro-IPOB X user belongs to Tom Cruise, an American Hollywood lead actor in ‘Mission Impossible’ movie series.
In one of its tweets on August 10, 2022, the account claimed that President Buhari said one million Igbo have been killed to keep Nigeria united.
It wrote: “Imposter president #buhari said that he killed one million Igbo to keep Nigeria one, very shameful.
“Conversely the same igbo that buhari proud of killing is drumming to vote again to remain in one Nigeria,I can see that Igbo don’t like freedom they like suffering and smiling”, the user tweeted.
The user attached a picture of a news headline which reads: “We killed one million people to keep Nigeria united: President Buhari”.
ROUNDCHECK findings, however, revealed that the ex-president’s statement was taken out of context.
Our research shows that the same report published by various reputable online outlets on August 9, 2022, has it that the then-presidential spokesperson, Femi Adesina, in a statement, quoted the president as saying that millions of Nigerians who have died for the country to remain united is a pointer to practical experience on “hard-earned patriotism”.
The statement reads in part: “We have gone through all the troubles from 15th of January 1966 to date. You know what I mean by this. We have killed a million of ourselves to keep this country together”.
ROUNDCHECK confirmed that the claim that the ex-president said millions of Igbo have been killed to keep Nigeria united is Misleading.
This violates X’s synthetic and manipulated media policy which notes thus: “You may not share synthetic, manipulated, or out-of-context media that may deceive or confuse people and lead to harm (“misleading media”).”
Like in the previous account, analysis reveals that this user had composed over 500 posts, shared over 1,400 tweets and retweets and only 268 likes on posts pro-succession and other posts.
3. Fake US Lawmaker Michael William
Also, another pro-separatist user disguising as a foreign national on Twitter goes by the name @Michael William (@Floydmax11).
The suspicious account was created in 2019 and the handler claims to be a ‘U.S. Lawmaker with a location in the ‘United States’. It has both U.S. and Israeli flags on its page.
A search on Congress.Gov, the official website for U.S. federal legislative information, reveals no result for ‘Michael William’. This means that no lawmaker goes by that name.
No result was found for the name ‘Michael William’
Analysing The Account
ROUNDCHECK conducted an image verification using Google Lens on the display picture on the account.
Research shows that the image on the display picture is the image of Merrick Garland, an American lawyer, judge, and government official who served as U.S. attorney general (2021) in the administration of President Joe Biden.
Check for the Twitter account of Marrick brings no relevant results.
Although the account posts about issues on global politics, it often composes tweets that suggest the user is a Nigerian based in the country.
See some of the posts below:
It sometimes tweets with the#️Fulani terrorists,#️FreeMaziNnamdiKanuNow, etc.
While cases of violence had been reportedly instigated by some Fulani, tagging the generality of the tribe flaunted X’s policy which states thus: “We prohibit targeting others with repeated slurs, tropes or other content that intends to degrade or reinforce negative or harmful stereotypes about a protected category.”
In a tweet on January 23, 2022, the user claimed that Pope Francis prayed for the IPOB supporters – apparently to suggest that the head of the worldwide Roman Catholic church, Francis, supports the group’s secession move.
To verify the claim, ROUNDCHECK conducted a keyword search on the internet.
Results show two articles published by a foreign and a Nigerian media outlet dating back to 2016.
One of the articles published by Newsweek on 29 February, 2016 with the headline “Pope Greets Pro-Biafra Activists at the Vatican During Angelus Prayer”, reported that the Pope greeted IPOB activists who gathered at the Vatican during his (Pope) weekly Angelus address – when addressing crowds of pilgrims gathered in St. Peter’s Square.
Also, a March 1, 2016 report by Vanguard newspaper quoted an IPOB spokesperson, Mr. Emma Powerful, as saying: “IPOB (members) bombarded Pope Francis with 5,500 calls and the Pope answered the calls and gave his word to make sure he talks about Biafra and its restoration and yesterday, about 35,000 Biafra agitators in Europe, Asia and America visited the Pope at Vatican City and the Pope and other Catholic leaders addressed them as Biafrans and prayed for them. That was the first time a world leader at that level addressed us and called us by the name Biafrans and prayed for us.”
However, AfricaCheck debunked the claim that the Pope said Biafra’s independence was ‘God’s will’ and the ‘United Nations should do the needful’.
ROUNDCHECK concluded that the video is an old video and therefore Misleading.
So far, the account has over 2,400 tweets/retweets, 1,600 photos and videos and 3,400 likes.
Conclusion
ROUNDCHECK investigation reveals activities of some of these pro-IPOB accounts using profiles of foreign nationals to spread propaganda, misleading narratives and hateful speech on X in violation of X’s policies.
