Leader of the Indigenous People of Biafra, or IPOB, Nnamdi Kanu, declared on Tuesday that he would not be deterred by the Supreme Court’s ruling last Friday that ordered him to stand trial for terrorism-related accusations made by the Federal Government.
On the occasion of its third anniversary, Kanu’s statements coincided with the Eastern Security Network, or ESN, the IPoB’s militia wing, issuing a warning to vigilante groups, herders, and thugs operating in the Southeast.
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The Anambra Vigilante Group, or AVG, was also counselled by the security agency to put an end to the alleged kidnappings in the state.
Kanu’s attorney, Ifeanyi Ejiofor, made a statement to media outlets in Owerri concerning his client’s potential prosecution for terrorism after visiting the Department of State Services, or DSS, headquarters.
in Abuja, where he had spent more than two years behind bars.
The attorney for the IPOB commander expressed confidence in his client’s victory in the court case.
Onyendu Mazi Nnamdi Kanu was informed of the Supreme Court’s final decision and voiced his doubts about it, he said, responding to the ruling by citing a few provisions of the Nigerian constitution.
Onyendu chose to accept this result, nevertheless, not because the Supreme Court’s rulings are perfect, but rather because they are definitive.
However, upon receiving this ruling, Onyendu explicitly asked that the following important queries be made available to the astute public, who are closely monitoring the course of this case:
The following Nigerian statutes were all mentioned in our brief to the Supreme Court. Did the ruling of the Supreme Court, which essentially approved the Federal Government’s unlawful act of Onyendu Mazi Nnamdi Kanu’s kidnapping and extraordinary rendition to Nigeria, effectively repeal them?
“Onyendu advised everyone to stay focused and keep their eyes on the ball, even as he praised Ezigbo UmuChineke once more for your prayers and love.
“Onyendu commanded his adherents to carry on with their custom of peaceful behaviour.”
ESN warns vigilante groups and armed ranchers
In a statement, Emma Powerful, the spokesman for IPOB, called for the dissolution of all vigilante groups and political thugs, including the South-East governors’ Ebubeagu militia.
All accused government-sponsored criminals, car-snatching gangs, kidnappers, and rapists operating in the states of Imo and Anambra were asked to leave their camps by the group.
The statement said, in part, that it was necessary to put an end to the Fulani herdsmen and their Miyetti Allah sponsors parading around the axis of Abia, Akwa Ibom and Igweocha, Anambra, Delta, Enugu, and Ebonyi, especially in the Lokpanta area.
They are currently engaged in kidnapping and highway robberies. These Fulani bandits were responsible for the majority of the highway robberies and kidnaps that occurred along the Enugu-Umuahia-Aba-Port Harcourt Motorway. These Fulani bandits primarily hide out at Lokpanta Cattle Market.
This warning also extends to the Anambra Vigilante Group, or AVG, who abandoned their original duty of maintaining Anambra State’s security in favour of criminality and the wrongful kidnapping and killing of IPOB members there. We shall be forced to confront you if you do not cease your violent deeds.
“With immediate effect, all illegal security groups and political thugs organised to target Biafrans must be disbanded. Imo State’s Ebubeagu militia needs to be abolished immediately.
“This Ebubeagu was accountable for the widespread murder and arson of homes belonging to innocent people in Biafraland, particularly in Imo State.
“Marching orders are today issued to all government-sponsored criminals, cannibals, car-snatching gangs, kidnappers, and rapists operating in the states of Imo and Anambra to immediately leave their camps in the Eastern Region.
“Every politician and traditional leader who is actively aiding in the Fulani herdsmen’s resettlement in our areas has to be prepared for us.
“Come next year, we will impose severe punishment on those who are collaborating with Fulani herdsmen and our land’s enemies to occupy our ancestral land through force.”
