Lawyer Aloy Ejimakor has issued a stark political warning to President Bola Ahmed Tinubu and Southeast politicians, declaring that failure to release his client, Nnamdi Kanu, could severely damage their chances in the 2027 general elections.
Kanu, leader of the Indigenous People of Biafra (IPOB), is currently serving a life sentence after being tried on charges including terrorism and treasonable felony.
In a post on X, Ejimakor wrote, “Southeast politicians, aspiring to contest the 2027 elections should bear this in mind: If MAZI NNAMDI KANU is not freed in the near term, it will ruin your chances in the 2027 elections. Don’t ask me how. The same fate awaits President Tinubu, because SE will remember.”
Ejimakor also reignited controversy over IPOB’s designation as a terrorist group, insisting the 2017 proscription was politically motivated rather than rooted in genuine national security concerns. He argued it was designed to suppress dissent and criminalise the political expression of the Igbo people.
According to him, international bodies and legal institutions have repeatedly questioned the legitimacy of the terror label. He cited a communication sent on October 1, 2020, by UN Special Rapporteurs urging Nigeria to “reconsider the proscription of IPOB as a terrorist group,” warning that such actions should not be used to “quell legitimate political opinion and expression.”
He further referenced findings by former UN Special Rapporteur Agnes Callamard, as well as Opinion No. 25/2022 by the UN Human Rights Council, which declared Kanu’s detention arbitrary and called for his unconditional release and compensation.
Ejimakor noted that on March 18, 2018, the African Commission on Human and Peoples’ Rights directed Nigeria to rescind IPOB’s terrorist designation and avoid actions that could cause “irreparable damage” to its members.
He also pointed to a ruling delivered on October 26, 2023, by the Enugu State High Court, which declared the proscription of IPOB “illegal, unconstitutional, null and void,” awarding ₦8 billion in damages to Kanu and ordering a public apology. The court held that the ban violated Section 42 of the 1999 Constitution, which prohibits ethnic discrimination.
Adding an international dimension, Ejimakor stressed that neither the United States nor the United Kingdom has designated IPOB a terrorist organisation. “Nigeria lobbied both governments to do so internationally and both refused,” he said, noting that the UK found IPOB did not meet the legal threshold for proscription, while a Council on Foreign Relations analysis warned such a move could trigger a “massive human rights crisis.”
“The evidence is irrefutable and compelling – the terror tag on IPOB is not a genuine security policy, but a thinly-veiled ethnic discrimination aimed at Igbos,” Ejimakor said, adding that it has led to “extrajudicial killings, mass arrests, and a climate of fear.”
“De-proscription is not clemency; it is justice. It restores constitutional equality, complies with binding international opinions, and ends the weaponisation of anti-terror laws against one ethnic group. Nigeria’s government must act now to repeal the proscription, release those held solely for IPOB affiliation, and engage in genuine dialogue,” he said.
