The Indigenous People of Biafra (IPOB) has stated that its leader, Mazi Nnamdi Kanu, remains in detention because he has refused to compromise his stance on the Biafran cause.
In a statement by its Media and Publicity Secretary, Emma Powerful, IPOB claimed that Nnamdi Kanu is a prisoner of conscience in Nigerian custody and should be released immediately.
According to the pro-Biafra group, the Federal Government was behind Kanu’s extraordinary rendition from Kenya to Nigeria in June 2021.
The group accused the federal government of illegally detaining Nnamdi Kanu, while attempting to dismantle IPOB.
They urged Igbos to continue advocating for the unconditional release of their leader, adding that Kanu’s call for Biafra is legal.
“Moreover, Mazi Nnamdi Kanu has remained steadfast and true to his people, even after nearly four years of illegal detention by the Nigerian government in the DSS dungeon,” the group said.
IPOB highlighted the 2022 judgment of the Nigerian Court of Appeal in Abuja, which discharged and acquitted Kanu, as well as the UN Committee on Arbitrary Detention’s condemnation of his abduction, rendition, and continued detention.
Despite these rulings, IPOB noted, the Nigerian government has disregarded the legal and international resolutions.
“The Nigerian government knows that Mazi Nnamdi Kanu committed no crime, locally or internationally. His persecution is simply an expression of ethnic hatred against Ndigbo,” IPOB asserted.
The group warned that Kanu is being persecuted, not prosecuted, and that the Nigerian government’s actions have only strengthened IPOB’s resolve. They called on the international community to condemn the ongoing persecution and human rights violations against Kanu and Ndigbo at large.
“The Nigerian government should know that IPOB cannot be destroyed or intimidated into abandoning the struggle for Biafra. The continued persecution of Mazi Nnamdi Kanu will further expose the mockery of democracy in Nigeria.
“IPOB and Mazi Nnamdi Kanu remain committed to our demand for a referendum. We will not be intimidated into submission by the tyranny of the Nigerian government. Biafra will come, but the wounds of the persecution against Ndigbo will take decades to heal,” the statement added.
