IPOB dares Nigerian govt to appear in court to defend terrorist tag

Proscribed Igbo separatist agitators, Indigenous People of Biafra (IPOB) has warned the federal government to stop classifying them as a terrorist group.

The group, in a statement on Friday, said it was either the government removed the “terrorist” tag it placed on it and its members or appear in court to defend the tag.

Spokesman for the group, Emma Powerful who issued the statement, said the group had appealed against a proscription order in 2017 by Justice Abdul Kafarati who granted an ex parte order designating IPOB as a terrorist organisation.

Powerful however, said despite several summons, the federal government has refused to appear at the Appeal Court to defend their proscription order.

“Ever since the IPOB’s proscription was appealed, the Federal Government and her compromised Judges have been running away from meeting the IPOB legal team in their court,” the statement said.

“The Federal Government and her courts are running while the IPOB legal team awaits them in the court to continue what they started.

“The IPOB, ably led by our supreme leader Mazi Nnamdi Kanu, wondered why the Federal Government is running away from defending their ‘black market’ proscription of IPOB before the Appeal Court.

Read also: Banning, tagging IPOB as terror group unlawful, court declares, orders FG, S’East govs to pay Kanu N8bn

“This black market proscription order has been appealed in the Appeal Court since 2018 by the IPOB legal team, but the Federal Government of Nigeria keeps using the slow and warped justice system to frustrate the hearing of the Appeal.”

Describing IPOB as a peaceful group which is only concerned with the freedom of the Biafra people, Powerful said:

“IPOB is a peaceful movement seeking Biafra restoration. IPOB, since its formation, has organised the most peaceful rallies across the world, particularly in Biafra territories. Irrespective of our non-violence approach, the ethnic-biased former President used one of his kinsmen, a judge, to proscribe this peaceful movement.

“Our legal team appealed the proscription in 2018. Since then, we have been waiting for the Federal Government to appear in their court and explain to the world how a peaceful movement seeking freedom became a terrorist organisation.

“Instead of facing IPOB’s legal team in court to prove their proscription of IPOB, the Federal Government capitalised on the illegal terrorist tag on IPOB, using the security forces to abduct, illegally detained, and most times extra-judicially murder unarmed IPOB members.

“African Union, European Union, USA and Russia governments, Amnesty International, Human Rights Watch, and other reputable human rights organisations across the globe should ask the Federal Government and its courts to remove the illegal proscription tag on IPOB or appear in Court to defend their actions,” he said.

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