The United States Government has issued a strong statement saying that it does not consider the Indigenous People of Biafra, IPOB, a terrorist organisation, a Punch report on Sunday, September 24, 2017 says.
The paper quoted the spokesperson for the American Embassy in Nigeria, Russell Brooks, as telling it on Friday that the U.S. Government does not view IPOB, which is a self-determination advocating for the independence of the Republic of Biafra, as a terrorist group.
“The United States Government is strongly committed to Nigeria’s unity. Important political and economic issues affecting the Nigerian people, such as the allocation of resources, are worthwhile topics for respectful debate in a democracy,” Brooks told the newspaper in an e-mailed response to enquiries.
“Within the context of unity, we encourage all Nigerians to support a de-escalation of tensions and peaceful resolution of grievances. The Indigenous People of Biafra is not a terrorist organisation under US law.”
Justice Kafarati of the Federal High Court in Abuja, on Wednesday, last week, 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. Last week, Justice Kafarati was named as one of several high profile government officials under investigation by the anti-graft commission, the Economic and Financial Crimes Commission, EFCC. The agency has since denied that it was looking into the judge’s financial dealings.
The court order followed widespread condemnation of the attempt by the Nigerian military to proscribe IPOB and brand it a terrorist militant organisation.
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
Indigenous Peoples of Biafra, IPOB, has also 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.
I see nothing wrong in declaring IPOB a Terrorist group like Boko Haram in the context of Nigerian “justice system” and political condition. From their modus operandi, Boko Haram is a complete terrorist organization and IPOB is a terrorist group in making. What the Pseudo-Christian IPOB and Boko Haram radical Islamists have in common is their sense of deprivation, the feeling they are losing power and drifting into a marginalized existence and crime. As in Nigeria, the two groups are as much about tribal and religious as economic concerns, carrying false flags and firearms not only to break Nigerian constitution and law and order, but also to terrorise the people. And in interrorising the people, Boko Haram open and carry AK 47weapons for Self-defense, while IPOB concealed and carry barreled firearms for self-centered determination. Their leaders are typically cruel and suspicious tyrants. The Pseudo-politician, Nnamdi Kanu is a dishonest, British Post-colonialistic master of the ignorant and common people in the East, while the leader of Boko Haram, Abubakar Shakau is a honest but dangerous militant and warhead of the less privileged and neglected youths in the North. They feed on angry mobs and the fear of those who feel disenfranchised by poverty and who sense a loss of power to set and maintain norms and values in Nigerian society.
IPOB doesn’t carry firearms. They only carry the Biafran flag. The constitution of Nigeria protects the rights of citizens to express themselves in a civil manner. Holding a flag that has the insignia of what you believe in is not criminal under the constitution and it is a fundamental right to do so.