IPOB Reports BBC To UN, ICC, Accuse Organisation Of False, Biased Reports Of Its Activities

...Says BBC's biased reports triggered Killing of Igbo during the 1966 pogrom in Nigeria 

The Indigenous People of Biafra, IPOB, has accused the British Broadcasting Corporation, BBC, of bias in it's reportage of the ongoing persecution of the group by the Federal Government. 

IPOB noted that the BBC had also been complicit in the historic and ongoing harassment of IPOB, in the country, pointing out that it had become an instrument of disinformation against the people of the organisation.

These were contained in a statement dated September 1, 2025, and signed by it's Media and Publicity Secretary, Mazi Emma Powerful.

The statement titled, "BBC: Complicit In BBC Complicit In Historic And Ongoing Persecution Of Biafra," read, "The IPOB, under the leadership of our detained Leader, Mazi Nnamdi Kanu, alerts the global community that the BBC has, once again, positioned itself as an instrument of disinformation against Biafra, IPOB, and the Igbo nation.

Misrepresentation of the Gulak Case

"The BBC’s persistent attempt to tie IPOB to the tragic death of Ahmed Gulak is a reckless abuse of journalistic power. This narrative deliberately ignores the official position of Governor Hope Uzodinma of Imo State — publicly recorded on video and tendered in court — that IPOB had no involvement whatsoever. Governor Uzodinma clearly stated that Gulak’s death was the result of political rivalries, not IPOB activities.

"Despite possessing this incontrovertible evidence, the BBC continues to publish state-manufactured falsehoods, amplifying propaganda that endangers our people and seeks to delegitimise the struggle for self-determination.

BBC’s Historical Complicity in Atrocity

"This pattern is not new. In 1966, the BBC deliberately characterised Nigeria’s January coup as an “Igbo coup.” That framing triggered mass pogroms across Northern Nigeria, where over 300,000 Igbo civilians were massacred.

Between 1967 and 1970, as Nigeria waged a genocidal war against Biafra, the BBC once again played the role of imperial mouthpiece, sanitising the deliberate starvation policy and mass killings that claimed over 5 million Biafran lives. 

"By misreporting the truth and denying the scale of atrocities, the BBC provided moral cover for Britain’s supply of arms and diplomatic support to Nigeria’s military dictatorship.

"This historical record establishes the BBC not as an impartial broadcaster, but as a complicit architect of atrocity whose narratives have repeatedly facilitated crimes against humanity.

Contemporary Propaganda: A Continuation of Imperial Policy

"Today, the BBC Pidgin Service continues this legacy by manufacturing narratives that criminalise legitimate self-determination efforts. Through selective framing, it brands IPOB as violent, suppresses exculpatory evidence, and parrots the language of “terrorism” — the same rhetoric used to justify unlawful rendition, indefinite detention, and systemic persecution of our people.

"Such conduct directly contravenes international standards of media ethics and violates the fundamental principle of accuracy and fairness enshrined in Article 19 of the International Covenant on Civil and Political Rights (ICCPR). By deliberately distorting facts, the BBC is not reporting; it is enabling state repression.

Conclusion: A Continuing Threat to Justice and Human Rights

"It must be stated without equivocation: the BBC is more dangerous to IPOB and the Igbo people than even the Nigerian state. Nigeria wields bullets and detention cells; the BBC wields narratives that justify those bullets and silence those victims. Both are weapons of persecution.

"We therefore hold the BBC accountable as complicit in historical genocide and in present-day violations of human rights against Mazi Nnamdi Kanu and the Biafran people. The international community must recognise this pattern, confront the BBC’s disinformation, and insist on accountability in global reporting.

Call to Action

Accordingly, IPOB calls upon:

"The United Nations, UN to investigate the BBC’s role in perpetuating false narratives that have facilitated crimes against humanity, past and present.

Amnesty International and Human Rights Watch to document and expose the BBC’s complicity in disinformation campaigns that endanger Biafrans.

"Reporters Without Borders, RSF, to examine the BBC’s breach of journalistic ethics and to hold it accountable for violations of global media standards.

The International Criminal Court, ICC, to take judicial notice of how propaganda has historically enabled genocidal violence and continues to do so in Nigeria.

"History will not absolve those who weaponise journalism against a persecuted people. The BBC must be held accountable."

COMRADE EMMA POWERFUL SPOKESPERSON/MEDIA AND PUBLICITY SECRETARY FOR IPOB.