Why IPOB and OPC are similar to Boko Haram - Ex-Chief of Army Staff

A former minister of interior, Abdulrahman Dambazau, has said there are similarities between the O’odua People’s Congress (OPC), the proscribed Indigenous People of Biafra (IPOB) and Boko Haram.

According to The Cable, Dambazau, who is a retired army general and a past chief of army staff, described the OPC and the IPOB as extremist groups.

He made the statement on Friday, April 9, at the inauguration of Army War College Nigeria Course 5/2021 in Abuja.

The former minister explained that both groups are exhibiting features similar to that of Boko Haram when the insurgent group started out in 2009.

Dambazau said: “They are all non-state actors; they all have separatist agenda to carve out states out of Nigeria’s territory; they all do not believe in the Nigerian project, its unity and peaceful co-existence just like BH.

“They are also beginning their projects by attacking security forces and those they consider their enemies.''

According to Daily Trust, he stated that both groups are trying to ignite inter-ethnic conflicts by attacking northern residents.

The retired general said: “We see parallels between BH, a religious extremist group and the IPOB and OPC, both ethnic extremist groups. All the three groups operate on the platform of extremism.”

He advised that the police should be actively involved in dousing the ethnic tension across the country.