The Indigenous People of Biafra (IPOB) has strongly denounced the 2017 decision by the Nigerian government to proscribe the group, describi...
The Indigenous People of Biafra (IPOB) has strongly denounced the 2017 decision by the Nigerian government to proscribe the group, describing it as an “executive fraud rubber-stamped by a compromised judiciary.”
This position was made known in a statement issued by IPOB’s spokesperson, Comrade Emma Powerful, on Wednesday. In the statement, the group asserted that the proscription lacked both legal foundation and constitutional validity.
According to Emma Powerful:
“We issue a global challenge: Point to one terrorist act committed by IPOB prior to its proscription in September of 2017. Just one. There is none.”
The group alleged that the proscription was politically motivated and did not follow due process. It pointed fingers at former Attorney General Abubakar Malami, accusing him of securing an ex parte order from Justice Abdul Kafarati of the Federal High Court, without offering IPOB a fair hearing.
Constitutionally Deficient, IPOB Says
Referencing Section 36(1) of the 1999 Constitution (as amended), IPOB argued that its fundamental right to a fair trial was violated in the process that led to its designation as a terrorist group. The statement emphasized that such rights are non-derogable, even during national emergencies, citing Sections 45(1) and (2).
Quoting from the Constitution, the group added:
“No person shall be held to be guilty of a criminal offence... unless that offence is defined and the penalty is prescribed in a written law.”
IPOB maintained that no such law was cited to justify the proscription.
Allegations of Forum Shopping
The group also accused the government of “forum shopping,” alleging that the ruling by Justice Kafarati contradicted an earlier Federal High Court judgment which held that IPOB was not an unlawful society. IPOB stated that the initial ruling was never appealed, and therefore remains valid and binding.
“The same judiciary which held IPOB is not unlawful cannot turn around to criminalize it through the back door,” the statement declared.
Peaceful Advocacy Reaffirmed
IPOB reiterated its position as a non-violent self-determination group, maintaining that its only “crime” was advocating for the actualization of Biafra.
“We did not kill. We did not bomb. We did not burn. But we were punished—because we are Igbo. Because we dared to speak the name Biafra,” said Emma Powerful.
Demand for Evidence and Justice
The group criticized the Nigerian government for failing to present any evidence linking IPOB to terrorism or violence.
“If there is no evidence—and indeed there is none—then the proscription is not just illegal; it is criminal,” the statement added.
Emma Powerful concluded by reaffirming the group’s commitment to peaceful advocacy and constitutional justice, stating:
“No amount of judicial fraud, executive violence, or media blackmail will erase our identity, destroy our resolve, or suppress our truth.”
The statement comes at a time when IPOB leader Mazi Nnamdi Kanu remains in detention, a development that has drawn renewed scrutiny both locally and internationally over Nigeria’s handling of political dissent, rule of law, and ethnic relations.
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