The Directorate of Legal Affairs, Research and Global Communications of the Indigenous People of Biafra (IPOB) stated on Tuesday that the proscription order issued against the group (IPOB) in 2017 by the federal government was unconditional.
It noted that the order was conveyed through an ex parte court order, emphasising that the group was never “lawfully declared a terrorist organisation under Nigerian or international law.”
A statement on Tuesday from the Directorate, signed by its Counsel, Onyedikachi Ifedi, challenged anyone, including the judiciary, to cite a valid judicial pronouncement, issued after a full and fair trial, that endorses the false designation.
Ifedi argued that the 2017 Federal High Court ruling, which purported to proscribe IPOB, was obtained without notice, without evidence, and in blatant violation of Section 36(1) of the Constitution of the Federal Republic of Nigeria 1999 (as amended).
He stated that the constitution provides that in the determination of civil rights and obligations, “a person shall be entitled to a fair hearing within a reasonable time”, adding that no civilised society proscribes organisations or convicts persons behind their backs.
“The Nigerian government acted in secret, with the sole aim of silencing IPOB’s legitimate demands for self-determination”, he argued.
He added that the IPOB is the only group in Nigerian history to have been labelled a terrorist organisation and then taken to court to challenge its proscription all the way to the Supreme Court of Nigeria.
“Which so-called terrorist group does that? Boko Haram has never done so. ISWAP has never done so. Fulani herdsmen (Miyetti Allah)—named by the Global Terrorism Index as the 4th deadliest terror group in the world—have never even been declared illegal.
“The Nigerian government has never presented any credible evidence—no arms, no bank transfers, no bomb factories—to prove that IPOB is violent. Instead, it relies on hearsay, press propaganda, and a corrupt segment of the judiciary eager to rubber-stamp executive wishes”, he said
Insisting that a “man cannot be condemned unheard”, he reaffirmed that a “fair hearing is not a technical doctrine. It is a rule of substantial justice which is fundamental to every civilised legal system.”
Ifedi added that the ex parte order relied on by the government was not a “conviction, nor was it a judgment on the merits”.
“It was a legal ambush—devoid of cross-examination, evidence, or defence. Yet certain media houses and government agencies have run wild with this deception for eight years. Enough is enough”, he said
Ifedi reiterated the warning that it would not fail to sue any person or group that described the IPOB as a “terrorist group” in the future.
He demanded that the Judiciary declare the illegal proscription of IPOB as null and void, and that media outlets cease labelling it a terrorist organisation unless they can cite a judgment issued after a fair trial.
He also called on the international community to recognise Nigeria’s ongoing abuse of anti-terrorism laws as tools for ethnic suppression.
