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Recall that South East Governors Forum had in 2017 proscribed IPOB, with the federal government proclaiming the group a terrorist organization three days after.
IPOB is founded by Mazi Nnamdi Kanu. His special counsel, Barrister Aloy Ejimakor, had approached Enugu State High Court, presided over by Justice A.O. Onovo, to set aside the proscription, among others.Justice A.O. Onovo last Thursday ruled in favour of Kanu that the actions of the governments in proscribing Kanu were illegal, that self-determination is not a crime, and went ahead to award N8bn monetary compensation to Kanu.
The court also granted Kanu’s relief that a public apology be tendered to him in three national dailies.
IPOB’s spokesman, Emma Powerful, relying on the ruling, stated that the judgement had absolved IPOB of illegal proscription, hence the group should no longer be tagged as such.
He said IPOB cases had exposed the weaknesses of Nigeria’s judiciary, referring to the ruling of a high court in Umuahia, which ruled that Kanu did not jump bail, with compensation in Kanu’s favor.
He commended the IPOB legal team for their legal astuteness and also being resolute and focused in their legal services.
“That is the reason the Federal Government of Nigeria has been running away from defending the black market proscription order of Justice Abdul Kafarati against IPOB in the Appeal Court.
“Nevertheless, the latest judgment from Justice Onovo of Enugu State High Court has made the wicked black market proscription order null and void”, adding that ‘it exonerated IPOB of obnoxious terrorist tags that the Nigeria government wickedly hung on the peaceful movement as a justification for violent suppression.”
He stated, “In the eyes of the law and before the international community, IPOB is not a terrorist organization.
“Those who jubilated when the black market proscription was leveled against IPOB by the Government of Nigeria using an ethnic biased Justice Kafarati are now ashamed of themselves, especially those compromised media houses linking and tagging IPOB as a proscribed organizations.
“The history book shall be read by the unborn generations that one courageous judge overruled a bigotry judgment against peaceful IPOB who were fighting for the rebirth of Biafra Nation.”
He also emphasized that the then South East governors engineered the proscription of IPOB, adding that the history book will never forgive them.
Powerful said, “The wicked and illegal proscription led to illegal incarceration, extrajudicially killings, and forceful disappearances of many innocent Biafrans by the Nigeria murderous security agents.
“History and Biafrans will never be kind to those behind this devilish act against innocent movement and family seeking for Biafra restoration.”
