Fact Check

Posts falsely claim Nigerian separatist group is not listed on global terrorism index

Copyright © AFP 2017-2023. All rights reserved.

Supporters of the Nigerian separatist group Indigenous People of Biafra (IPOB) have claimed that it has not been listed as one of the world’s deadliest terror groups on the 2023 Global Terrorism Index (GTI). The government designated the movement as a terrorist organisation in 2017 and its leader is currently in detention on terrorism charges. AFP Fact Check found the claim is false: IPOB was ranked the tenth deadliest terror group, according to the latest global index by the Australian-based Institute for Economics and Peace.

“It’s FALSE that IPOB is now ranked the 10th deadliest terrorist group in the world by the Global Terror Index. IPOB was only mentioned as having been declared a terrorist group by Nigeria. IPOB is registered. Terrorist groups can’t be registered. If you try, you’ll be arrested,” reads a tweet posted on March 16, 2023.

A screenshot of the false post, taken on March 16, 2023 ( Mary KULUNDU)

Aloy Ejimakor, the author of the tweet, is special counsel to IPOB’s detained leader Nnamdi Kanu.

Other accounts affiliated with IPOB also shared the claim, including self-proclaimed IPOB faction leader Simon Ekpa who was recently arrested (archived here) in Finland.

Ekpa has been accused of using social media to incite violence during the 2023 Nigerian general elections.

He repeatedly threatened “open war” and violence against those who came out to vote in southeast Nigeria in violation of his stay-at-home orders, which called for a curfew and lockdowns.

However, other factions of IPOB repeatedly tried to disown him.

Global Terrorism Index

By using a keyword search for “2023 Global Terror Index”, AFP Fact Check found the most recent report was published in March 2023 by the Institute for Economics and Peace (IEP), an independent nonprofit think-tank based in Sydney.

Its annual Global Terrorism Index presents key trends in global terrorism using data from the previous year. It covers 163 countries, each ranked according to a score.

IEP defines terrorism as “the systematic threat or use of violence, by non-state actors, whether for or in opposition to established authority, with the intention of communicating a political, religious, or ideological message to a group larger than the victim group, by generating fear and so altering (or attempting to alter) the behaviour of the larger group”.

The report shows IPOB sits in tenth place on the list of the 20 deadliest terror groups of 2022.

A screenshot of the report, taken on March 17, 2023 ( Mary KULUNDU)

Nigeria, overall, ranks as one of the top 10 countries in the world impacted (archived here) by terrorism, along with other west African countries, including Burkina Faso, Mali, and Niger.

Other groups active in Nigeria on the list are the Islamic State West Africa in sixth place (ISWA) and Boko Haram in seventh, both Islamist extremist groups.

According to IEP’s report on page 28, “the Indigenous People of Biafra (IPOB), designated as a terrorist group by the Nigerian government in 2017, recorded their deadliest year in 2022. They were responsible for 40 attacks and 57 deaths in 2022, an increase from 26 attacks and 34 deaths the year prior. IPOB is a separatist group with many factions, many of which are seeking a peaceful succession from Nigeria”.

While Nigeria designated IPOB as a terrorist group in 2017, other countries have not necessarily followed suit.

In 2022, the United Kingdom released a statement (archived here) affirming that IPOB was not designated as a terrorist organisation by the government.

The US list of Designated Foreign Terrorist Organisations (archived here) does not include IPOB, but both ISWA and Boko Haram feature on it.

The 2022 GTI did not include a list of the 20 deadliest terror groups but the report briefly mentioned IPOB as being a separatist group targeting Nigerian law enforcement.

Although the GTI lists IPOB as a terror group in its latest report, the IPE does not have the legal authority to designate a group as a terrorist organisation.

An individual country like the United Kingdom or the United States can designate an organisation as a terror group but through a legal process.

Disclaimer: No copyright infringement intended. All rights and credits reserved to respective owner(s).

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