IPOB alleges 83 more members held in correctional centres

From Stanley Uzoaru, Owerri

The Indigenous People of Biafra (IPOB) says 83 of its members are still being held in correctional centres across the North, days after four Biafrans were released from the custody of the Department of State Services (DSS) after about four years.

In a statement issued by its spokesperson, Emma Powerful, IPOB said that while the release of the four men was noted, it should not be mistaken for the resolution of what it described as national injustice.

According to the group, its legal team has formally identified 83 Biafrans who were secretly transferred from military custody at Wawa Barracks in Kainji, Niger State, and are currently being held in correctional facilities in Kuje, Keffi and Suleja.

IPOB said its lawyers had formally communicated the names of their legal representatives to the Office of the Attorney-General of the Federation, adding that many more remain in detention, with some serving life sentences.

“This is not law enforcement. It is the criminalisation of an entire people through the abuse of state power,” the statement said.

The group faulted the legal foundation for the proscription of IPOB, arguing that it was made through a civil ex parte process, which cannot confer criminal liability or serve as a lawful basis to strip citizens of their liberty.

It further argued that the proscription instrument lacked the President’s statutory approval required by Section 2(1)(c) of the Terrorism (Prevention) Act 2013, insisting that the signature of a Chief of Staff cannot replace an act which the National Assembly expressly entrusted to the President.

IPOB cited the ruling in MultiChoice Nigeria Ltd v. FCCPC, in which Justice James Omotosho recognised the force of mandatory statutory compliance, saying the same law cannot acquire a different meaning when the rights of Biafrans are at stake.

“One law for MultiChoice and another for Biafrans is not the rule of law. It is judicial and governmental double standards,” Powerful stated.

The group also pointed to a subsisting inter partes ruling that IPOB is not an unlawful society, noting that an appeal concerning IPOB’s status and the legality of the proscription is pending before the Supreme Court.

“No Biafran should be serving a life sentence merely because the government has labelled him an IPOB member. The prosecution must prove a legally defined offence against each individual. Political association cannot replace proof,” it said.

IPOB demanded that the Nigerian government account for the 83 people already identified in Keffi, Suleja and Kuje, as well as every other Biafran in detention, those serving life sentences, and those held or unaccounted for at the Wawa military facility.

“The release of four is not the end of the matter. It is an indictment of the system that kept them imprisoned for four years. We demand the freedom of all Biafrans unlawfully detained, an end to the criminalisation of IPOB membership,” the group said.

It called on the United Nations, the United States Government and the European Union to intervene immediately against what it described as a kangaroo judicial system operating against Biafrans.