Indigenous People of Biafra,( IPOB) has accused the federal government of applying delay tactics to frustrate court cases involving its detained members in various parts of the country.
It said there had been endless adjournments and postponement of court cases involving the group in Nigerian court, as well as the ECOWAS court sitting in Abuja.
In a statement issued Monday by IPOB media and publicity secretary, Comrade Emma Powerful, the group cited some instances, of cases which had been abandoned indefinitely, thus necessitating continued incarceration of IPOB members.
The statement said: “The Nigerian judiciary and security operatives, especially the Nigerian army and police, are using the legal system to detain IPOB members without trial, under the guise of adjournment on each of the ongoing cases from Abuja, to Aba, Umuahia, Uyo, Port Harcourt and Enugu.
“All cases involving IPOB family members are being frustrated by the office of the Attorney General of the Federation (AGF). This has made the Nigerian judiciary and their judges willing accomplices to detention without trial for those holding alternative views to the government.
“Court orders are flagrantly being disobeyed by the same government that appointed the judges delivering these rulings. The case of Bright Chimezie Ishinwa is particularly distressing, given that a Federal High Court in Uyo ordered his immediate release, but till today DSS is still holding him and has refused to comply with the court order.
“The case came up again for hearing on November 2, 2017 in Uyo and in total disregard for the rule of law, the DSS refused to attend the court and also refused to release Bright Chimezie Ishinwa who is languishing without trial at DSS detention facility in Abuja.
“Those who claim to be professionals in the legal field, including the countless number of Senior Advocates of Nigeria (SAN) that regularly appear on television programmes, should understand that their seeming quietness does not speak well of them or their profession.”
