National Telescope national telescope newspaper
By: Ekpenyong Emmanuel
The detained leader of the Indigenous People of Biafra (IPOB), Mazi Nnamdi Kanu, has accused the Federal Government of ethnic discrimination against the Igbo nation.
Kanu’s Special Counsel, Alloy Ejimakor, made this assertion at a world press conference in Abuja, stating that the proscription of IPOB was tantamount to ethnic discrimination against the Igbos in the South-East region of the country.
Ejimakor pointed out that other groups, such as the Arewa Youth Forum, Odua Peoples Congress, and Niger Delta Avengers, were not proscribed by the Federal Government, highlighting what he saw as a clear case of discrimination.
He alleged that the action was driven by ethnic consideration against the Igbo nation.
According to Ejimakor, the proscription of IPOB was preceded by a public declaration made by South-East governors on September 17, 2017.
The government then filed an ex parte application before a Federal High Court, seeking a formal judicial order to proscribe IPOB and declare it a terrorist group.
Kanu’s legal team argued that the decision to proscribe IPOB was made without recourse to Section 42 of the Nigerian Constitution, which prohibits discrimination based on ethnicity and political opinion.
Ejimakor stated that the gazetting of the ex parte terrorist and proscription order would result in millions of IPOB members and their leader being treated as terrorists, with their properties subject to interdiction and confiscation without opportunity of being heard.
The African Commission on Human and Peoples Rights and the United Nations have reportedly condemned the Federal Government’s action, stating that it was motivated by ethnic bias and discrimination against the Igbo. Kanu’s legal team has also alleged that the Federal Government meant to eliminate Kanu during an Operation Python Dance by the military in his hometown in Abia State, resulting in the loss of several lives.
