IPOB and Her Long Walk to Freedom.
3 min read
Members of the proscribed Indigenous People of Biafra (IPOB) have gone into hiding as Federal Government intensifies clampdown on the membership and activities of the group. The Federal Government launched a highly intensified manhunt for the members of the group in March 2024. Since the designation of IPOB as a terrorist organization by the Government (a decision which has been rejected by governments and human rights advocacy groups around the world), the Nigeria security services have arrested several members of the group, including its leader, Mazi Nnamdi Kanu, and detained them for very long periods of time without trial.
From facts made available to Umuaka Times, IPOB acts like ANC which was established to fight for the freedom of Blacks in South Africa. IPOB organizes rallies and peaceful processions across the South East of Nigeria and these moves are not acceptable by the Federal Government of Nigeria and as a result, the government has fought back with all available tools within its disposal.
It can be recalled that in March 2024, Sir Ifeanyi Ejiofor, the lawyer to the detained leader of IPOB, Mazi Nnamdi Kanu, told journalists of his determination to proceed to court to challenge the continued harassment of IPOB members by the Federal Government. In his words, “I have been inundated with calls and messages from well-meaning Biafrans and individuals, expressing concerns over the purported declaration of Mazi Chika Edoziem, the Head of the Directorate of State of the Indigenous People of Biafra (IPOB) a wanted person by the Nigerian Defence Headquarters.
He continued that “Nigerian security agencies are not under any form of illusion about the identity of the masterminds of the heinous criminal activities in our land. IPOB and my humble self have on several occasions decried the devastation of our society by criminal Fulani bandits, but despite our continued rejection of violence and criminality, the federal government’s reaction has only been the proscription of IPOB and the deliberate attribution of the bandits’ heinous criminal activities to IPOB.” He concluded that “The Indigenous People of Biafra which I am its Lead Counsel, has remained a peaceful global movement, recognized and registered in several countries across the globe; exercising their legitimate rights to self-determination which is a right guaranteed under the Nigerian Constitution and other international laws and statutes.”
Ever before this time, IPOB members have reportedly been declared wanted by forces loyal to the Federal Government of Nigeria for diverse reasons. The controversy is that the government in Nigeria views IPOB as a terrorist group because it campaigns for the independence of Biafra. From the eyes of IPOB and her members and sympathizers across the world, the Federal Government of Nigeria is not sincere in her quest to clampdown on the organization. Last week, a female member of the group who did not want her name mentioned wondered what the government wanted to achieve by deceiving the world over the status of the non-violent group and her members across the country. “IPOB has offices in over 40 cities and state capitals around the world. None of the countries where IPOB operates offices in has come up with such frivolous allegation except Nigeria. This shows you the level of injustice against Biafrans by Nigeria.”
In March 2024, some members of IPOB which included Amobi Chinonso, Obiemesi Chukwudi, David Ezekwem Chidiebube, Chukwudi Ezeukwu and others were declared wanted for their alleged participation in some activities considered illegal by the Federal Government. Frantic efforts by Umuaka Times to reach out to the wanted members proved abortive except Chukwudi Ezeukwu who disclosed that all he has been doing for IPOB since he joined the group was in total conformity with the non-violent resolution of the body.
Meanwhile Mazi Nnamdi Kanu, the indefectible founder and leader of IPOB who has been in detention for a number of years has received a lot of pleas on his behalf from many prominent Nigerians calling for his unconditional release. Some have advocated political solution for his release while others have asked the court to free him. Sometime ago, Kanu distanced himself from the violence attributed to him and IPOB and urged the Federal Government to go after mischief makers under any guise.
For now, Kanu is still in detention, several IPOB members are on the run and the legal fireworks are still ongoing in the court to determine his fate. It is only time that will tell and show a new direction for both Nigeria and IPOB.
