The Indigenous People of Biafra (IPOB), has appealed the recent ruling of the Court of Appeal which upheld its proscription and designated it as a terrorist organisation, by asking the Supreme Court to overturn the judgment.
A three-man panel of the Court of Appeal led by Justice Hamma Barka, had, on January 30, upheld the decision of late Justice Abdu-Kafarati, a former Chief Judge of the Federal High Court, Abuja, which proscribed IPOB and declared it a terrorist organisation on January 18, 2018.
In the earlier ruling, Justice Abdu-Kafarati had declared all IPOB activities illegal, particularly in the South-East and South-South regions of Nigeria, stating that the group constituted a threat to national security.
The group, dissatisfied with the judgement, had challenged the decision at the Appeal Court but in the January 30 ruling, the appellate court unanimously agreed that the Federal Government acted lawfully in proscribing IPOB, holding that IPOB’s activities posed a threat to Nigeria’s continued existence and the security of its citizens.
However, the group has decided to take its case to the apex court by filing a five-ground notice of appeal at the Supreme Court.
In the appeal filed on its behalf by its counsel, Aloy Ejimakor, IPOB argued that the lower court erred in law by declaring the group a threat to national security.
The suit marked SC/CA/A/214/2018, lists the Attorney General of the Federation as the sole respondent and IPOB as the sole appellant, also contended that the Court of Appeal erred in holding that national security concerns outweighed IPOB’s right to a fair hearing as provided under Sections 36(2) and 45(1) of the 1999 Constitution (as amended).
IPOB argued that the process by which it was proscribed and declared a terrorist organisation violated the provisions of the Constitution, emphasizing that under the Constitution, a period of emergency must be declared by the President pursuant to Section 305 for any restrictions on rights to apply.
Ejimakor further argued that the appellate court lacked the jurisdiction to declare a threat to national security or emergency as the basis for denying IPOB its constitutional right to a fair hearing.
He condemned the decision of the Court of Appeal, saying it breached non-derogable provisions of the Constitution, particularly those prohibiting the imposition of disabilities or restrictions on individuals based on their ethnic group, place of origin, or political opinion.
Citing Article 20 of the African Charter on Human and Peoples’ Rights, he asserted IPOB’s right to self-determination, stating that oppressed or colonized people have the right to free themselves, and prayed the Supreme Court to allow the appeal and reverse the judgment of the Court of Appeal.
In a post he shared on X on Sunday confirming the development, Ejimakor said:
“The proscription of IPOB will not stand because it is tantamount to proscribing NDIGBO & their cousins in other parts of Nigeria. A nation of 70 million cannot be terrorists. We’ve headed to the Supreme Court.”