The Indigenous People of Biafra, IPOB, on Saturday said it is not a terrorist organization.
IPOB’s spokesman, Emma Powerful, made the remark while commending Justice A. Onovo of Enugu High Court for annulling the proscription of the separatist group.
IPOB described its proscription by Justice Abdul Kafarati as “black market.”
In 2017, Justice Kafarati proscribed IPOB due to the group’s agitation for Biafra and, by extension, Nigeria’s break up.
However, Justice Onovo had upturned the ruling while ordering the Southeast governors to pay N8 billion as compensation to IPOB’s leader, Nnamdi Kanu.
Reacting, Powerful lamented that most judges have broken the laws because they are intimidated into upholding injustices against IPOB members.
Powerful noted that IPOB cases had exposed the weakness of Nigeria’s judiciary, which has ridiculed Nigeria before the international community.
According to Powerful: “We, the global movement and family of the Indigenous People of Biafra (IPOB), ably led by the great and indefatigable liberator Mazi Nnamdi Okwuchukwu KANU commend the landmark judgement by Hon. Justice A. Onovo of Enugu State High Court on October 26, 2023, which absolved IPOB from the black market Proscription.
“Justice A. Onovo has demonstrated to the world that there are still judges who are willing to uphold justice even in the face of executive intimidation of the judiciary, particularly on the cases involving IPOB in Nigeria.
“IPOB equally commend IPOB legal teams for their legal astuteness and also being resolute and focused in their legal services. IPOB lawyers are men and women who understand the law, not quota system lawyers. They have been defeating the Nigerian government in their own courts.
“That is the reason the Federal Government of Nigeria has been running away from defending the black market proscription order of Justice Abdul Kafarati against IPOB in the Appeal Court. Nevertheless, the latest judgment from Justice Onovo of Enugu State High Court has made the wicked black market proscription order null and void.
“This recent judgment from Justice Onovo of Enugu High Court has exonerated IPOB of obnoxious terrorist tag that the Nigeria government wickedly hung on the peaceful movement as a justification for violent suppression. In the eyes of the law and before the International Community, IPOB is not a terrorist organization.
“Those who jubilated when the black-market proscription was leveled against IPOB by the Fulani Government of Nigeria using an ethnic biased Justice Kafarati are now ashamed of themselves, especially those compromised media houses linking and tagging IPOB as a proscribed Organizations.”
