Amid rising tension in the South-East over separatist agitation, Prince Emmanuel Kanu, younger brother of detained IPOB leader Nnamdi Kanu, has broken his silence on allegations linking him to the group’s spokesperson role, insisting the claims are carefully designed to destroy him and land him in jail.
Prince Emmanuel, who serves as spokesman of the Okwu-Kanu family, said the claim was a deliberate falsehood being promoted by individuals bent on maligning his character and dragging him into the ongoing crackdown on IPOB.
He said the report alleging that he doubles as Emma Powerful was calculated to provoke security agencies into taking action against him, adding that the goal was to silence him and subject him to the same ordeal as his detained brother.
“There is a plot being hatched by enemies of Ndigbo to jail me like they did to my brother by falsely tagging me as the spokesperson of IPOB,” Prince Emmanuel said.
He noted that security agencies were already aware of the true identity of Emma Powerful, recalling that the IPOB spokesperson had previously granted telephone interviews to Channels Television, making it clear that he was a distinct individual.
The article in question was written by a certain Stanley George. It alleged that Prince Emmanuel was in charge of IPOB’s media operations and that the agitation for Biafra self-determination had become a “family business” of the Okwu-Kanu family. It was titled “Prince Fineboy Kanu, the Emma Powerful Controversy, and Senator Orji Uzor Kalu’s Call for Peace in the South East.”
In the piece in question , George, who presented himself as a stunch supporter of Senator Orji Uzor Kalu, accused Emma Powerful, whom he claimed was Prince Emmanuel of issuing inflammatory statements that had stoked tension in the South-East.
He further portrayed the former Abia State governor as “one of the few consistent voices calling for restraint, calm and a return to dialogue” on the Biafra agitation.
However, Prince Emmanuel totally dismissed the publication as “sponsored propaganda” carefully designed by enemies of the Igbo people to incite security agencies against him.
He described the attempt to link him with identity theft as “too lame and laughable” and insisted that the campaign was aimed at silencing him and weakening the Igbo nation.
“I would not have dignified this gibberish with a response if not for the sake of those who may be misled by it,” he said.
“My major concentration at the moment is to provide care for my brother, who is a prisoner of conscience and a victim of Nigeria’s injustice and entrenched hatred against the Igbo.
“We know this is an orchestrated plot by enemies to frame me and possibly confine me the way they did to my brother.
“It is no longer in doubt that some traitors, camouflaging as Igbo leaders, are conniving with enemies to sabotage the interest of Ndigbo.
“They are already known for who they are, and no amount of media propaganda or blackmail will change public perception about them. History will judge them.”
Prince Emmanuel restated that he has no affiliation with IPOB in any capacity and urged the public to disregard what he described as malicious fabrications about his identity, warning that such falsehoods were capable of inflaming tension and deepening mistrust in the South-East.
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