The Indigenous People of Biafra (IPOB), under the authority of its supreme leader, Onyendu Mazi Nnamdi Kanu, has issued a strong statement c...
The Indigenous People of Biafra (IPOB), under the authority of its supreme leader, Onyendu Mazi Nnamdi Kanu, has issued a strong statement correcting what it calls a “persistent misrepresentation” of its legal status in Nigerian media.
In a release signed by Onyedikachi Ifedi Esq., consultant to the Mazi Nnamdi Kanu Global Defence Consortium, IPOB declared that it is no longer proscribed or banned under any Nigerian law following the repeal of the Terrorism (Prevention) (Amendment) Act 2013.
According to the statement, “the proscription order that was purportedly made against IPOB has no legal validity today because the only enabling statute — the Terrorism (Prevention) (Amendment) Act 2013 — has been repealed and replaced by the Terrorism (Prevention and Prohibition) Act 2022.”
Citing key Supreme Court and Court of Appeal precedents, IPOB’s legal team stressed that “where an Act is repealed, any order or liability dependent on it automatically collapses, unless expressly preserved,” adding that no provision in the new 2022 law criminalizes IPOB.
The release also accused some sections of the media of “tacitly supporting governmental propaganda” by continuing to label IPOB as a banned group. It reminded editors and broadcasters of their constitutional duty under Section 22 of the 1999 Constitution to ensure accurate reporting.
“We therefore urge all media houses to desist forthwith from describing IPOB as ‘proscribed’ or ‘banned’,” the statement warned, noting that the group may explore legal remedies, including defamation actions, against publications that persist in mischaracterizing its status.
“IPOB is neither proscribed nor criminalized in law today. The media owes the Nigerian public a duty of truthful reporting grounded in law,” the release concluded.
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