IPOB demands release of detained Igbo men, alleges persecution

….Group says release of four men after four years in DSS custody exposes alleged injustice

By Chimaobi Nwaiwu

NNEWI — The Indigenous People of Biafra (IPOB) has demanded the release of Igbo people it claims are being unlawfully detained across correctional facilities in the country, alleging continued persecution of Ndigbo.

The group said the recent court-ordered release of four Igbo men, who were reportedly held in the custody of the Department of State Services (DSS) for almost four years, exposed what it described as systemic injustice against the people.

IPOB, in a statement by its Media and Publicity Secretary, Emma Powerful, titled, “The Persecution of Biafrans Must End: A Demand for Accountability and Rule of Law,” said the release of the four men should not be mistaken for a resolution of the wider concerns over the detention of its members.

The group said its legal team had identified 83 people allegedly transferred from military custody at Wawa Barracks in Kainji, Niger State, to correctional facilities in Kuje, Keffi and Suleja.

It claimed that its lawyers had communicated the names of legal representatives for the detainees to the Office of the Attorney-General of the Federation.

IPOB further alleged that several other people remained in detention, with some reportedly serving life sentences over cases linked to alleged membership of the group.

Describing the situation as an abuse of state power, IPOB argued that political association or alleged membership of the organisation should not constitute grounds for imprisonment without proof of specific criminal offences.

The group also questioned the legal basis of its proscription, arguing that the process was conducted through a civil ex parte proceeding and lacked the statutory approval required from the President under Section 2(1)(c) of the Terrorism (Prevention) Act 2013.

It maintained that the signature of a Chief of Staff could not substitute for presidential approval where such approval was expressly required by law.

IPOB cited the judgment in MultiChoice Nigeria Ltd v. FCCPC, involving Justice James Omotosho, to argue that statutory requirements should be applied consistently, irrespective of the parties involved.

The group also referred to what it described as a subsisting inter partes ruling that IPOB was not an unlawful society, insisting that the government and prosecuting authorities should address the legal implications of the ruling.

It disclosed that an appeal concerning the organisation’s status and the legality of its proscription was pending before the Supreme Court.

IPOB argued that no individual should be sentenced to life imprisonment solely on the basis of alleged membership of the organisation, insisting that prosecutors must establish specific offences against each defendant.

The group called on the Federal Government to account for the 83 people it said had been identified in correctional facilities in Keffi, Suleja and Kuje, as well as other people allegedly being held in connection with the Biafran agitation.

It also urged the United Nations, the United States Government and the European Union to intervene over what it described as violations of the rights of detained Biafrans.

“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 all people it considers unlawfully detained and an end to what it described as the criminalisation of its membership.