By Peter Omopo
Former Attorney-General and Commissioner for Justice in Imo State, Chief Cyprian Akaolisa, has denied allegations that he is funding the activities of the Indigenous People of Biafra (IPOB) and its militant arm, the Eastern Security Network (ESN).
In a statement personally signed and released in Owerri over the weekend, Akaolisa described the claims as “demonic, ill-inspired, and deliberately defamatory,” insisting that they were part of a campaign to tarnish his image.
He alleged that IPOB supporters had targeted him since 2020, after he publicly vowed to prosecute ESN members responsible for the killing of policemen and civilians in Orlu Zone. According to him, the attacks escalated after he backed Governor Hope Uzodimma’s decision to invite the military to flush out armed groups in the region — a move he said led to the burning of his home and his father’s property in Orsu.
“The advent of ESN has heightened kidnapping, murder, cannibalism, and occultism in Igboland,” Akaolisa said, stressing that Orsu indigenes never invited the separatist groups to protect them from herders, as claimed.
He maintained that the renewed smear campaign was aimed at discrediting stakeholders committed to ending insecurity in the state, while commending Governor Uzodimma’s efforts to protect lives and property.
