The Court of Appeal in Abuja has upheld the proscription of the Indigenous People of Biafra (IPOB) as a terrorist organization.
In a unanimous decision, a three-member panel led by Justice Hamma Barka affirmed the Federal High Court’s ruling that outlawed IPOB.
The appellate court ruled that there was no justification to overturn the order obtained by the Federal Government, stating that the proscription was lawful, given the group’s activities, which were deemed a threat to national security.
All issues raised by IPOB were resolved against it, leading to the dismissal of its appeal for lack of merit. The original proscription order was issued on September 15, 2017, by the late Justice Abdul Abdu-Kafarati of the Federal High Court, following an ex-parte motion filed by the former Attorney-General of the Federation, Abubakar Malami.
Justice Kafarati had declared IPOB’s activities illegal, particularly in the South-East and South-South, and barred individuals from participating in them. He further directed the AGF to publish the order in the official gazette and two national newspapers.
On January 22, 2018, the court dismissed IPOB’s motion challenging the proscription, rejecting claims that the order was obtained surreptitiously.
Dissatisfied, IPOB filed an appeal, arguing through its legal team led by Senior Advocate of Nigeria (SAN), Chukwuma-Machukwu Umeh, that the proscription was unjust and amounted to labeling over 30 million Igbo Nigerians as terrorists. However, the appellate court dismissed the appeal, affirming the Federal High Court’s decision.
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