- The UK said it is not officially aware of any request by the Nigerian government
- Lai Mohammed had said Nigeria made moves to get the radio shut down
The British government has said its refusal to shut down Radio Biafra, an arm of the Indigenous People of Biafra (IPOB), is not deliberate, but that it has not received any request to that effect. The United Kingdom said there was no request from the Nigerian government to have the radio shut down.
The denial was made by the British high commission in a statement by its press and public affairs officer, Joe Abuku. The short statement said: “The UK is not aware of any representation from the Nigerian government about Radio Biafra.
“Were we to receive any such request, we would of course consider it carefully on the basis of the available evidence, recognising that freedom of speech and expression carries responsibilities.”
The statement could be a reply to Lai Mohammed, the Nigerian information minister, who was quoted as saying the British government had continued to allow the radio despite the damage done by Kanu and IPOB.
Mohammed had reportedly said: “Who does not know that the IPOB internal radio is located in London?
“We know the diplomatic moves we have been taking and approaching the UK, all the damages it (Radio Biafra) has done, but they don’t see it that way, for them (the British government), it is about freedom of expression.
” NAIJ.com earlier reported that the government of France has denied any links with the Indigenous People of Biafra (IPOB), the group seeking a referendum to carve out a separate country in the southeast region of Nigeria. The report stated that the federal government of Nigeria which launched a brutal military clamp down on the separatist group last week subsequently proscribed and declared it a terrorist organisation.
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