The Indigenous People of Biafra (IPOB) has given the Federal Government 14 days to ensure the immediate listing and hearing of Nnamdi Kanu’s pending appeal.
The group also threatened to mobilise for a boycott of the 2027 general elections across the South-East and other areas it describes as Biafraland if the government fails to act.
IPOB’s Head of Directorate of State, Mazi Chris Nwaogu, issued the ultimatum in a video broadcast on Monday amid renewed concerns from Kanu’s family over delays in hearing his appeal against his conviction and life sentence.
Kanu’s family recently disclosed that he had written 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.
Kanu’s legal battle dates back to his 2015 arrest on terrorism-related and other charges. He was granted bail in 2017 but later left Nigeria after security forces conducted a military operation at his residence that year.
He returned to Nigeria in 2021 after being arrested in Kenya and brought back to the country. His lawyers challenged the circumstances of his return, describing it as an extraordinary rendition.
In October 2022, the Court of Appeal in Abuja discharged and acquitted Kanu, ruling, among other things, that the manner in which he was brought back to Nigeria had affected the legal basis for continuing his prosecution.
Nwaogu accused the Federal Government of failing to defend Kanu’s conviction before the Court of Appeal after moving swiftly to secure his conviction.
“The Federal Government has not filed a Respondent’s brief; they have not listed the appeal; they have not come to court. A country that rushed to convict is now too frightened to defend the conviction.
“We are giving them 14 days to list Nnamdi Kanu’s appeal; if they refuse, we will consider boycotting the coming elections across Biafraland and beyond. A government that cannot face its Court of Appeal has no right to demand our votes,” he said.
The IPOB official warned that the group would consider mobilising for a boycott of the 2027 elections if the government failed to meet its deadline.
He also criticised the handling of Kanu’s case by the judiciary, alleging that proceedings from the trial court through the appellate stages had raised serious concerns about Nigeria’s judicial system.
Nwaogu further challenged the Supreme Court’s decision to overturn Kanu’s discharge and acquittal by the Court of Appeal.
He particularly faulted a judgment delivered by Justice Lawal Garba, arguing that the apex court exceeded its constitutional powers by pronouncing on individual counts that had already been quashed by the Court of Appeal.
“This judicial conspiracy through the trial court to the remittal and the present silence will shame the Chief Justice of Nigeria and all lawyers who still pretend this system is healthy. This case will either reset the Nigerian judiciary or expose it,” he said.
Chronicle NG reports that Kanu remains at the centre of a long-running legal dispute, with his family and supporters continuing to demand accelerated consideration of his appeal.
