The leader of the Indigenous People Of Biafra, IPOB, Nnamdi Kanu, on Friday, September 22, 2017 challenged the court order proscribing his group and declaring it a terrorist group.
The motion was filed by his lawyer, Ifeanyi Ejiofor who argued that IPOB is a non-violent organisation; therefore the decision of the Abuja Division of the Federal High Court to issue an order, based on a motion made ex-parte, was illegal.
He also argued that his client was not given a fair hearing and that the court lacked the jurisdiction to grant such an order, therefore, the court should the order aside
The recently banned Indigenous Peoples of Biafra, IPOB, has slammed Justice Abdul Kafarati, the federal judge who granted the federal government’s request to label the self-determination group a terrorist organisation.
In a statement, e-mailed to The Trent on Thursday, September 21, 2017 and signed by Emma Powerful, a spokesperson of the organisation, said that the judge was an stooge of the ruling All Progressives Congress, APC and was being used to procure the “disgracefully shambolic, crudely fabricated, and concocted’ court order which branded the advocates as terrorists.
Justice Kafarati of the Federal High Court in Abuja, on Wednesday granted a request filed by Abubakar Malami, the attorney-general of the federation, requesting the proscription of the Indigenous People of Biafra, IPOB, and declaring the group’s activities “acts of terrorism and illegality”.
According to reports, Justice Kafarati was hurriedly and “secretly sworn-in” as chief judge of the Federal High Court on Saturday, September 16, 2017. Observers believe that he was made the chief judge of the court for the purpose of issuing this court order to “legalise” the pronouncement by the Nigerian military.
The judge is reported to have a “checkered” past, one online news platform said.
