Court invalidates the Nigerian government's ban on IPOB

A state High Court in Enugu has declared the 2017 proscription of the Indigenous People of Biafra (IPOB) as unlawful, effectively nullifying the Nigerian government's ban on the group, which had been declared a terrorist organization. The judge, A.O. Onovo, ruled that the basis for the proscription, which relied on the Terrorism Prevention Act and administrative actions by the South-east Governors' Forum and the federal government, violated Section 42 of the Nigerian Constitution, which prohibits discrimination based on ethnicity.

The lawsuit was filed in January 2023 by Mr. Nnamdi Kanu, the leader of IPOB, against the Nigerian government, South-East Governors' Forum, the President of Nigeria, the Attorney General of the Federation, and the Governor of Ebonyi State. Justice Onovo's ruling emphasized that the proscription of IPOB also violated Mr. Kanu's fundamental rights as outlined in the African Charter on Human and People's Rights (Enforcement and Ratification) Act.

The court ordered the Nigerian government to publicly apologize to Mr. Kanu and declared that self-determination is not a crime, making it an invalid basis for arresting and prosecuting the IPOB leader. Furthermore, the federal government and other respondents were directed to jointly pay Mr. Kanu N8 billion in damages for the numerous physical, mental, emotional, psychological, and property damages he suffered due to the infringements on his fundamental rights.

The Nigerian government had repeatedly accused IPOB of being behind attacks in the South-east region, leading to loss of lives and property damage, but the group had consistently denied these allegations. Mr. Kanu, accused of terrorism, remains detained by Nigeria's secret police, SSS, in Abuja, while security agencies continue to target suspected IPOB members in the South-east.

Aloy Ejimakor, a special counsel to Nnamdi Kanu and IPOB, described the court's judgment as a landmark victory and highlighted the government's unjust targeting of IPOB compared to other ethnic organizations that have not faced similar measures.