The leader of the outlawed Indigenous People of Biafra (IPOB), Nnamdi Kanu, has vowed to challenge the recent Court of Appeal judgment affirming the proscription of IPOB as a terrorist organization.
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His special counsel, Aloy Ejimakor, disclosed this in a statement on Friday night following a visit by Mr. Kanu’s legal team to his detention facility at the State Security Service (SSS).
The Court of Appeal in Abuja, on Thursday, reaffirmed the 2017 proscription of IPOB by the Nigerian government under former President Muhammadu Buhari.
The group, which has been at the forefront of agitations for an independent Biafra, was formally declared a terrorist organization by a Federal High Court ruling.
Reacting through his legal counsel, Mr. Kanu strongly condemned the ruling, describing it as legally flawed and vowing to resist it through all available legal avenues, both locally and internationally.
“The ruling by the Court of Appeal affirming the proscription of IPOB as a terrorist group will live in infamy and shall be resisted vigorously within the parameters of the law,” Mr. Ejimakor quoted Kanu as saying.
According to the legal team, the 2017 proscription order was obtained via an ex parte application by the federal government instead of a proper hearing where IPOB could defend itself.
They argued that this violated the constitutional principle of fair hearing. Furthermore, they pointed out that the proscription directive was issued by the then Chief of Staff, Abba Kyari (now deceased), instead of the sitting President, which they claim renders it procedurally defective.
Ejimakor stated that despite the Court of Appeal acknowledging these procedural lapses, it upheld IPOB’s proscription on the grounds of national security.
“One wonders where the national security risk posed by IPOB in 2017 lay, that warranted such a blatant breach of the Constitution, in a manner that discriminatorily targeted the Igbo as a whole,” he argued.
Despite the ruling, Mr. Ejimakor assured that the legal team is taking the fight to the Supreme Court, where they are confident of overturning the judgment.
He also warned against labeling Mr. Kanu or IPOB as terrorists, threatening legal action against anyone who defames his client.
“For the time being, it is legally safer and wiser for all to resist the dangerous temptation of calling Mazi Nnamdi Kanu a terrorist until he is either convicted as one which is a tall order – or until the Supreme Court decides against him, which is highly unlikely,” Ejimakor asserted.
With the battle now shifting to the highest court in the land, all eyes remain on the judiciary to determine the fate of IPOB and its embattled leader.