The Indigenous People of Biafra (IPOB) has declared that it will boycott the general election in January, saying the boycott will be total across the South-East “and beyond” unless the Federal Government moves to list and hear the pending appeal of its leader, Nnamdi Kanu.
In a statement issued by Mazi Chris Nwaogu, Head of the group’s Fourth Administrator Directorate of State (DOS), IPOB described the boycott as “not a threat, but a promise,” saying anyone who wants it called off should “stop talking to IPOB and talk to the APC government”.
It called for the appeal to be listed and heard because “time is going.”
The group said it would not disclose how it intends to ensure compliance until nearer the time, to prevent what it called “desperate politicians” from hijacking the move and turning it into disorder.
IPOB sought to distance itself from violence, insisting it is “against every form of violence” and that a boycott “is not a licence to disrupt rallies” or deploy thugs, while accusing the APC-led government of using the same tactic to blame IPOB for the Monday sit-at-home order, alleging the government “created chaos, blamed us, and sold the lie to the world.”
Group Alleges Thuggery Against Opposition In Enugu
The statement condemned what it called a growing use of thugs to disrupt opposition rallies and ward meetings in Enugu State under Governor Peter Mbah, alleging that opposition gatherings in Nkanu West were invaded, people were shot, and canopies and chairs destroyed.
IPOB said police confirmed the attacks while the APC denied involvement, adding that “the pattern is what matters,” and warning that the use of criminal elements to intimidate opponents “will be put to an end in the coming days,” describing this as a warning.
The group alleged the government and what it called a “complicit judiciary” have abandoned Kanu’s appeal and a related suit before the Supreme Court without listing it or joining issues, arguing that Section 36(2) of the Constitution, which requires a written law defining an offence and prescribing its punishment, means there can be no conviction.
It further faulted Justice James Omotosho over his handling of an earlier no-case ruling and cited Sections 97 and 98(2) of the Terrorism Prohibition Act 2022 as requiring the case to continue under the corresponding provisions of the newer law — assertions that reflect IPOB’s own position rather than any court finding.
IPOB Cites Deaths Of 37 Men In NSCDC Custody In Niger State
IPOB reiterated its position that the ex parte order proscribing the group is illegal, saying its appeal at the Supreme Court remains pending, its lawyers have begun appeals for all those detained, the injured are receiving treatment, and prison outreach continues in Port Harcourt, Owerri, Enugu and Abakaliki.
It promised families still searching for relatives: “you have not been forgotten.”
The group also cited the deaths of 37 young men in the custody of the Nigeria Security and Civil Defence Corps (NSCDC) in Minna, Niger State, after their arrest on suspicion of illegal mining, alleging that survivors described a packed cell with no air and a substance sprayed before the door was shut.
IPOB used the incident to argue it cannot trust the authorities with Kanu or what it called its “missing sons in the East.”
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