The United Kingdom has denied media reports making the rounds that it has designated the Indigenous People of Biafra (IPOB), a separatist group in South Eastern Nigeria as a terrorist organisation.
In a statement seen by The Nigerian Xpress and issued by the UK High Commission in Abuja and posted on their Twitter account, the High Commission said that IPOB is not a proscribed organisation in the UK.
According to the statement, the inaccurate reporting by some media organisations stems from the April 13 publication by the UK government of the revised Country Policy and Policy and Information Note on IPOB and Country of Origin Analysis (COIs).
Please see our statement, which clarifies the UK Government's position in response to some inaccurate reporting in circulation today. pic.twitter.com/pPou7SxQ9S
— UK in Nigeria🇬🇧🇳🇬 (@UKinNigeria) May 6, 2022
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The UK government said that asylum and human rights claims made in the UK are considered their individual facts in accordance with UN Refugee Convention and European Convention on Human rights, taking into consideration relevant background country information and case law.
The CIPN on separatist groups in the South East including IPOB provide a general assessment of risks faced by individuals belonging to those groups, the statement said.
Reports were rife in the Nigerian media on Friday, April 6, 2022, that the United Kingdom has designated IPOBÂ as a terrorist organisation with some saying the so-called unknown gunmen achieved their aim.
The leader of IPOB, Nnamdi Kanu is standing trial in Nigeria on terrorism and felony charges.
The Nigerian Xpress has reported that the Bayelsa State Governor, Senator Douye Diri, has promised that his administration would provide and guarantee the enabling environment for United Kingdom investments in the state.
He requested the envoy to pave the way for British investments in the state in the areas of agriculture, transportation, education, maritime, aquaculture, ICT among others.
The governor, in a statement by his Chief Press Secretary, Mr. Daniel Alabrah, said the relationship between the UK and Bayelsa predated the creation of Nigeria, which was further consolidated by the discovery of crude oil in commercial quantities at Otuabagi, a community in the state, by Shell in February 1956.
