By CHARLES IWUOHA

The Directorate of State (DOS) of the Indigenous People of Biafra (IPOB) has formally disbanded the use of the pseudonym “Emma Powerful”, directing that all official IPOB press releases must henceforth be issued only on the organisation’s official letterheaded paper.

This decision was contained in a statement issued on Saturday by Mazi Chukwukadibia Edoziem, Head of the Directorate of State of the Indigenous People of Biafra.

According to the statement, the DOS explained that the pseudonym Emma Powerful, which had been operationally used by the IPOB Publicity Secretary for disseminating press releases, has been abused, misused, and compromised, thereby posing serious risks to the movement.

The statement noted that IPOB considers it critically imperative to make these clarifications as part of its commitment to ensuring that the global IPOB movement operates in line with globally recognised and accepted institutional best practices.

The DOS outlined the following considerations:

That Emma Powerful was originally an operational pseudonym used for IPOB press releases.

That any statement issued under the name of the Indigenous People of Biafra carries enormous responsibility for IPOB and its leadership.

That the pseudonym has been abused, misused, and compromised.

That the continued use of the pseudonym presents clear and present dangers to IPOB as a movement and to the Biafran self-determination struggle.

That certain individuals and groups have subtly deployed the pseudonym as a tool to disrupt the prevailing peace and security currently enjoyed by both Biafrans and visitors in Biafraland.

Consequently, the Directorate of State of the Indigenous People of Biafra resolved as follows:

In line with organisational standards, all press statements representing the official position of IPOB must henceforth be released exclusively on IPOB’s official letterheaded paper.

Arising from the abuse, misuse, and compromise of the pseudonym Emma Powerful, IPOB shall no longer use this name in issuing its press statements.

For the avoidance of doubt and in the interest of clarity, any press statement released under the pseudonym “Emma Powerful” going forward does not emanate from IPOB leadership and does not represent the position of the IPOB Directorate of State (DOS).

Furthermore, the Directorate of State categorically stated that it did not authorise any individual or group whatsoever to issue a lockdown or sit-at-home order across Biafraland on Monday, 2 February 2026

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