SaharaReporters has exclusively obtained a leaked confidential memorandum of the Office of the National Security Adviser (NSA) showing that the office is investigating what are described as the “subversive activities” of the Movement for the Actualization of the Sovereign State of Biafra (MASSOB) and the Indigenous People of Biafra (IPOB), and their alleged alliance with some Niger Delta militants.
The memorandum, which underlines that the operations are in line with the NSA's directives regarding the confirmation of the alleged activities, references “Special Operations covering the South-East (SE) and the South-South (SS) Geo-political zones” by the Defense Intelligence Agency (DIA).
It described conversations between NSA officials and prominent militant leaders and stakeholders in the Niger Delta area. Included in the discussions was King Dodo II of the Bilabiri Mein Kingdom of Bayelsa State, who “acted as an intermediary between the NSA Team and a Militant Group known as Die Bullet Proof,” and the “Ebiril Group.” The memo noted that these groups “control the axis of Azagbene/Egbemo-Anagalbiri territory in Bayelsa State.”
The date of the special operations, October 11-17, appears to correspond to the intensification of pro-Biafra demonstrations throughout the Southern States, suggesting a growing concern by security services over the threat posed by Biafran nationalist movements.
The NSA memo also sought authorization to negotiate a deal with these militant groups which included the “release of their members arrested by OP PULO SHIELD and currently detained in Okaka prison” and the rehabilitation of “78 members of the Group in a programme to be mutually agreed on by both parties.”
This leaked memo comes at a time when pro-Biafran protests and the arrest of IPOB leader Nnamdi Kanu have created an intense climate. The Governor of Rivers State, Nyesom Wike, yesterday banned pro-Biafra demonstrations in the State on account of insecurity and fear of damage to property.