The French Government has denied having any links with the Indigenous People of Biafra (IPOB) which seeks a referendum to secede from Nigeria.

The Federal Government had on Wednesday through the Minister of Information, Lai Mohammed claimed that the group whose activities have been proscribed by a court was funded from people in the diaspora and had its financial headquarters in France.

In a statement signed by the Political Counsellor at the French Embassy in Abuja, Claude Abily, the French government expressed surprise at the allegations and challenged the Nigerian government to provide evidence to back up its claims.

“The Embassy of France was surprised by the statement made the Minister of Information and Culture indicating that the ‘financial headquarters’ of IPOB was in France.

“We don’t have any knowledge of a particular presence of IPOB in France and the Nigerian authorities never got in touch with the Embassy on this point. We stand ready to examine any information which could support the statement.

 

“Furthermore, we would like to reiterate that France actively cooperates with Nigeria in the field of security and that we strongly support the unity of the country,” the French Embassy said in the statement.