The Indigenous People of Biafra (IPOB) has asked a Federal High Court sitting in Abuja to nullify the order proscribing and designating it as a terrorist organization. In a motion filed by its lawyer, Ifeanyi Ejiofor on Friday, the group claimed that the order was unconstitutional since it was granted against an entity unknown to law.
The motion read in part;
“That the ex parte order made on the 20th day of September 2017 by this Honorable Court was made without jurisdiction, as the order was granted against an entity unknown to law. “That there is a clear suppression and misrepresentation of facts in the Attorney General’s Affidavit evidence, pursuance to which the Order was granted.
That the Order is unconstitutional, as it was made in clear violation of the constitutionally guaranteed right of the Indigenous People of Biafra to self determination; Article 20(1) of the Africa Charter on Human & Peoples Rights, now domesticated into our Law under (Ratification and Enforcement Act) (Cap 10) Laws of the Federation of Nigeria 1990; Right to fair hearing, Right to freedoms of expression, and the press and Rights to peaceful Assembly and Association; clearly provided for under Sections 36, 39 and 40 of the 1999 Constitution of the Federal Republic of Nigeria as (Amended) 2011.
That a declaratory order cannot be made pursuant to an ex parte Application, without hearing from the party against whom the order was made. The Indigenous People of Biafra who are majorly of Igbo extraction, have no history of violence in the exercise of their right to self determination.”
Recall that on Thursday, the Attorney General of the Federation had approached an Abuja Federal High Court seeking the proscription of IPOB. The order was granted by the Chief Judge of the Court Justice Abdu Kafarati who stated that he was satisfied that the activities of the group constituted an act of terrorism and criminality.
