Indigenous People of Biafra (IPOB) has challenged the federal government to show proof that the group is a terrorist organization.
The group, in a press release signed by its publicity secretary, Emma Powerful and made available to NEWSMEN in Awka, described as obnoxious the order by Chief Justice Kafarati proscribing and labelling it as an unlawful terrorist group.
It condemned the order as “disgracefully, shambolic, crudely fabricated and concocted order delivered by a biased APC lackey”.
IPOB said Justice Kafarati in issuing the order was more concerned about the APC Government of President Muhammadu Buhari confirming him as the substantive Chief Justice of the Federal High Court than dispensing unbiased justice without fear or favour according to his oath of office.
It demanded the evidence that led Justice Kafarati to order the proscribing the group and also branding it a terror group, insisting that the order would not cow its members as freedom is no longer far away.
“Unarmed, peaceful IPOB should never and cannot be labeled a terrorist organisation when Fulani herdsmen from Buhari’s tribe, with their Hausa Fulani soldiers in the Nigerian Army are the ones killing IPOB family members.
“The world can now clearly see there is something fundamentally wrong with the Nigerian psyche and it’s propensity to reward evil and punish good. Nigeria will go down in history as the only country on earth to proscribe a peaceful organisation whilst blood thirsty violent marauders are given financial inducements to stop killing their innocent victims.”
The group said it was appalling and an affront to common sense that the judiciary in Nigeria always allow itself to be manipulated and messed about by whichever government is in power, saying that it was even more in the APC government, which they said has demonstrated bias through the order granted by Justice Kafarati proscribing IPOB.
“The judiciary inadvertently made itself a laughing stock in the judicial world. No wonder more civilised parts of humanity sometimes see we Africans as being incapable of mental development beyond self preserving primitive alliances. Legal practitioners all over the world would be wondering what caliber of people make it to the bench in Nigeria if a judge can order the banning of an association that has no history of violence whatsoever.
“Any judge or court of law worth its salt would have in the very least, demanded for proof of evidence of terrorists acts by IPOB, before doing the bidding of the government. In this case, as with most cases against IPOB, the only evidence provided by the very lying Lai Mohammed and the Attorney General of the Federation, is a video clip of brave IPOB men standing defiantly in front of an armored tank that killed 3 of their own in an unprovoked attack by the Nigerian Army at the home of their leader Mazi Nnamdi Kanu in Isiama Afaraukwu Ibeku.”
The group further said that the order has shown that Justice Binta Nyako stood her ground to deliver the judgment that granted Nnamdi Kanu bail, despite intimidation and blackmail by the Buhari led administration to turn down the bail
“Years of enduring blackmail, threats and humiliation of judges by this Buhari’s regime is beginning to pay off. We dread to think of what might have become of the few brave judges like Justice Binta Nyako who stood their ground to deliver sensible judgement even under the threat of imprisonment and demotion.”
IPOB added that declaring her a terrorist organisation is more or less like declaring the whole indigenous peoples who live in their ancestral homeland in Biafraland as terrorists.
It insisted that, “IPOB has never bombed or killed anyone. Our rallies are the most peaceful with no recorded incident or fracas or lawlessness; we have not killed anyone, yet Hausa Fulani Islamic dominated Nigeria, along with their judiciary and sponsored media attack dogs tagged us a terrorist group.
“We are not terrorists and can never be because our struggle for Biafra self determination is our undeniable right under United Nations and African Charter which Nigeria is a signatory to.”
IPOB reminded the federal government that a Federal High Court presided over by Justice Binta Nyako had on 6th March 2017 declared IPOB under the leadership of Mazi Nnamdi Kanu a lawful organisation. It said the judge went further to say that the fact IPOB is not registered in Nigeria does not make it illegal.
The group expressed surprise that since nothing has changed from the date of that judicial pronouncement till date, Justice Kafarati’s ruling that IPOB should be proscribed stands condemnable.
