The Indigenous People of Biafra (IPOB) has called on the Federal Government to release Igbo people it claims are being unlawfully held in correctional facilities across Nigeria.
The group alleged continued persecution of Ndigbo, saying the recent court-ordered release of four Igbo men after nearly four years in the custody of the Department of State Services (DSS) exposed wider concerns about injustice.
In a statement titled, “The Persecution of Biafrans Must End: A Demand for Accountability and Rule of Law,” IPOB’s Media and Publicity Secretary, Emma Powerful, said the release of the four men did not resolve the broader issue of alleged unlawful detention.
IPOB claimed its legal team had identified 83 people who were transferred from military custody at Wawa Barracks in Kainji, Niger State, to correctional facilities in Kuje, Keffi and Suleja.
The group said its lawyers had also submitted the names of legal representatives for the detainees to the Office of the Attorney-General of the Federation.
It further alleged that several other people remained in detention, with some reportedly serving life sentences over cases linked to alleged membership of the organisation.
IPOB described the situation as an abuse of state power, arguing that political association or alleged membership of the group should not lead to imprisonment without proof of specific criminal offences.
The organisation also questioned the legal basis of its proscription. It argued that the process was conducted through a civil ex parte proceeding and lacked the presidential approval it said was required under Section 2(1)(c) of the Terrorism (Prevention) Act 2013.
It maintained that a Chief of Staff’s signature could not replace presidential approval where the law expressly required it.
IPOB cited the judgment in MultiChoice Nigeria Ltd v. FCCPC, involving Justice James Omotosho, to argue that statutory requirements should apply consistently.
The group also referred to what it described as an existing inter partes ruling that IPOB was not an unlawful society. It said an appeal concerning its status and the legality of its proscription remained before the Supreme Court.
IPOB insisted that nobody should receive a life sentence solely for alleged membership of the organisation, arguing that prosecutors must prove specific criminal offences against each defendant.
It urged the Federal Government to account for the 83 people it said were held in Kuje, Keffi and Suleja, as well as others allegedly detained over the Biafran agitation.
The group also called on the United Nations, the United States Government and the European Union to intervene over what it described as violations of detainees’ rights.
“The release of the four is not the end of the matter. It is an indictment of the system that kept them imprisoned for four years,” the statement said.
IPOB demanded the release of everyone it considers unlawfully detained and an end to what it described as the criminalisation of its membership.
