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Human rights lawyer and former Chairman of the National Human Rights Commission, Prof. Chidi Odinkalu, has said that politically sponsored cult groups, not the proscribed Indigenous People of Biafra, are the main drivers of insecurity in the South-East.
Speaking on Channels Television’s Politics Today on Thursday, Odinkalu acknowledged that the separatist movement contributes to the insecurity in the region.
However, he described it as “ridiculous” to attribute every violent incident in the region to IPOB.
“Let me tell you this: the biggest single issue, in security terms, confronting the South-East, in my estimation, based on the work I have done on this, is, I regret to disappoint you, not IPOB, it is one word: cults, financed by politicians.
“All right? Now, the cults are the biggest single issue, and you don’t have a clue how terrible the problem of cults in the South-East is at this particular time.”
Odinkalu noted that the menace of cultism in the region has reached alarming levels, adding that political sponsorship has emboldened these groups and intensified insecurity. The ex-NHRC chairman maintained that there might be a connection between cultism and IPOB, but he stated that “cults financed by politicians, that is the biggest single security challenge confronting the South-East at this time.”
IPOB, he argued, cannot be sustained in certain communities in the South-East, which according to him renders the argument that the group is solely responsible for the insecurity in the five states exaggerated.
“Unquestionably, there is an IPOB issue, but the IPOB issue is overblown,” he said.
Odinkalu’s remarks come amid renewed attacks on security posts, police officers, and residents in parts of the South-East—incidents that have frequently been blamed on IPOB and its armed wing, the Eastern Security Network.
He urged security agencies and policymakers to focus more on tackling politically motivated violence and the proliferation of cult groups, which he described as the “biggest single security challenge” confronting the region today.
