Aloy Ejimakor, counsel to Nnamdi Kanu, has criticized the Nigerian Army over its repeated announcements of operations against the Eastern Security Network (ESN) and the Indigenous People of Biafra (IPOB), raising concerns about what he described as a pattern of “ethnic-baiting.”

Recall that Nigerian Army recently said its raid on IPOB/ESN strongholds and busted kidnapping networks were a major victory.

Reacting to the Nigerian Army in a statement posted on X on Wednesday, Ejimakor questioned the timing and consistency of the Army’s reported successes in the Southeast, particularly when security challenges escalate in Northern Nigeria.

“What is the sin of Southeast that each time the real terrorists turn up the heat in the North, the Nigerian Army rushes to the media to post some ‘major victory’ against some phantom ESN/IPOB in SE?” Ejimakor wrote.

He suggested that such narratives could either be an attempt to incite ethnic tensions or part of a broader agenda to portray the Southeast in a negative light.

“Is this ethnic-baiting or a hidden plot to de-market SE, the safest zone?” he queried.

The lawyer’s remarks come amid ongoing military operations targeting members of the Indigenous People of Biafra and its armed wing, the Eastern Security Network, which authorities have accused of involvement in violent attacks across parts of the Southeast.

The Nigerian government has consistently maintained that IPOB is a proscribed organization, while the military has continued to report arrests, neutralizations, and destruction of alleged ESN camps in the region.

Ejimakor, however, has repeatedly defended IPOB and challenged official narratives, insisting that the group is being unfairly targeted and misrepresented.

As of the time of filing this report, the Nigerian Army had not issued any official response to Ejimakor’s latest comments.

Nigerian Newsphere reports that insecurity in Northern Nigeria surged with an explosion in Borno and mass killings and abductions in Plateau, Nasarawa, Benue, and Kaduna states.