IPOB seeks freedom for Igbo detainees, alleges persecution

The Indigenous People of Biafra (IPOB) has called on the Federal Government to account for 83 people it claims are being held in correctional facilities across the country over their alleged involvement in the Biafran agitation.

The group said the recent court-ordered release of four Igbo men after nearly four years in the custody of the Department of State Services (DSS) had renewed concerns over the alleged prolonged detention of its members.

IPOB, in a statement by its Media and Publicity Secretary, Emma Powerful, titled The Persecution of Biafrans Must End: A Demand for Accountability and Rule of Law, said the release of the four men did not address the wider issue of alleged unlawful detention.

“The release of the four is not the end of the matter. It is an indictment of the system that kept them imprisoned for four years,” the group said.

IPOB claimed that its legal team had identified 83 detainees allegedly transferred from military custody at Wawa Barracks in Kainji, Niger State, to correctional facilities in Kuje, Keffi and Suleja.

It said the names of legal representatives for the detainees had been communicated to the Office of the Attorney-General of the Federation.

The group further alleged that several other people remained in detention, with some reportedly serving life sentences over cases linked to alleged membership of IPOB.

It described the situation as an abuse of state power, arguing that political association or alleged membership of the organisation should not warrant imprisonment without proof of specific criminal offences.

The separatist group also challenged the legal basis of its proscription, claiming that the process was conducted through a civil ex parte proceeding without the statutory presidential approval required under Section 2(1)(c) of the Terrorism (Prevention) Act 2013.

IPOB maintained that the signature of a Chief of Staff could not replace presidential approval where such authorisation was expressly required by law.

Citing the judgment in MultiChoice Nigeria Ltd v. FCCPC, involving Justice James Omotosho, the group argued that statutory requirements should be applied consistently.

It also referred to what it described as a subsisting inter partes ruling that IPOB was not an unlawful society, urging the government and prosecuting authorities to address the implications of the decision.

The group disclosed that an appeal concerning its legal status and the validity of its proscription was pending before the Supreme Court.

IPOB insisted that no individual should be sentenced to life imprisonment solely on the basis of alleged membership of the organisation, arguing that prosecutors must establish specific criminal offences against each defendant.

It called on the Federal Government to account for the 83 detainees and others allegedly held in connection with the Biafran agitation.

The group also appealed to the United Nations, the United States Government and the European Union to intervene over what it described as violations of the rights of detained Biafrans.

IPOB demanded the release of all persons it considers unlawfully detained and an end to what it termed the criminalisation of its membership.