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From Stanley Uzoaru, Owerri
The Indigenous People of Biafra (IPOB), has challenged the Federal Government and the Nigerian court over the group’s proscription and description as a terrorist organisation.
The Spokesperson of the group, Emma Powerful, who issued the challenge in a statement he released to journalists on Friday, described the proscription as a result of ethnic hatred and political jealousy.
“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 proscription was not the result of any unlawful conduct, but rather, a product of ethnic hatred, political jealousy, and unrestrained abuse of judicial processes.
“Driven by ethnic venom and colonial-era fear of the name “Biafra,” Abubakar Malami, the then Attorney-General, allegedly bypassed every legal standard and went to court to procure a proscription order via an ex parte application, in clear violation of Section 36 of the Constitution of the Federal Republic of Nigeria, 1999 (as amended),” Powerful said.
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In its further argument, the group said Section 36(1): “In the determination of his civil rights and obligations, including any question or determination by or against any government or authority, a person shall be entitled to a fair hearing within a reasonable time by a court or other tribunal established by law and constituted in such manner as to secure its independence and impartiality.
“Yet IPOB, a peaceful and lawful movement, was criminalised without notice, without hearing, and without trial.
“In a valid, adversarial, and fully argued court decision, the Federal High Court ruled that IPOB is not an unlawful society. That ruling was never appealed. It remains the law, binding on all parties.
“Mazi Nnamdi Kanu stands today as the only political defendant in the history of Nigeria being prosecuted without a shred of evidence – only tribal hatred and fear of the truth.”
