The banned Indigenous People of Biafra (IPOB) has given the Federal Government 14 days to ensure the inclusion and hearing of Namdi Kanu’s appeal, threatening to move to boycott the 2027 general elections across the South East and other parts of what it describes as Biafraland.
IPOB Directorate of State (DOS) chief Mazi Chris Nwaogu issued the ultimatum on Monday in a video broadcast, accusing the government of deliberately delaying the appeal procedure after acting quickly to secure Kanu’s conviction.
The threat came amid renewed concerns by Kanu’s family over the delay in the hearing of their appeal against the conviction and life sentence handed down to the detained IPOB leader.
The family recently revealed that Kanu wrote to the Chief Justice of Nigeria (CJN) and the President of the Court of Appeal, requesting the immediate listing and hearing of his pending cases.
According to the family, the request came after what they described as prolonged delays in proceedings regarding Kanu’s continued detention, conviction and life sentence.
Zwaogu accused the federal government of avoiding the appeals court, despite its previous efforts to secure Kanu’s conviction.
“The federal government has not filed a statement of claim, it has not filed an appeal, it has not gone to court. A country that was quick to condemn is now too scared to defend the conviction,” he alleged.
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The IPOB official said the group would consider mobilizing for an election boycott if the government did not act within the 14-day deadline.
“We give them 14 days to file Kanu’s appeal. If they refuse, we will consider boycotting the upcoming elections in Biafraland and beyond. A government that cannot face its Court of Appeal has no right to demand our votes,” Nwaogu said.
He also criticized the judiciary’s handling of Kanu’s case, alleging that the proceedings from the trial court to the appeal stages had raised concerns about the state of Nigeria’s judicial system.
“This judicial conspiracy through the trial court for remittance and the current silence will embarrass the Chief Justice of Nigeria (CJN) and all lawyers who still pretend that this system is healthy. This case will either reset the Nigerian judiciary or expose it,” he said.
Nwaogu further challenged the Supreme Court decision that overturned Kanu’s release and acquittal by the Court of Appeal, particularly criticizing the sentence handed down by Justice Lawal Garba.
He argued that the high court exceeded its constitutional powers by ruling on individual charges that had already been overturned by the Court of Appeals.
Justice Garba crossed a line that the constitution does not allow. “This is the crux of the matter,” he said.
According to him, the Supreme Court could have corrected the Court of Appeal on whether the trial court retained jurisdiction to continue hearing the case, but should not have gone further to determine the validity of individual charges that had already been quashed.
“Justice Garba did more than that. He looked at the individual charges that the Court of Appeal had already quashed and declared that the Federal High Court had jurisdiction to try those particular charges,” Nwaogu argued.
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