The outlawed Indigenous People of Biafra (IPOB) has raised an alarm over the arrest and detention of 24 persons over their alleged link to Nnamdi Kanu, the IPOB leader.
In a statement late Thursday by its Media and Publicity Secretary who deploys the pseudonym, Emma Powerful, obtained by POLITICS NIGERIA, IPOB said the 24 persons on his list were picked up across various states of the south-east and had been in detention since 2021.
It claimed that they have not been seen, nor have they been charged before any court in the country.
The separatist organization accused the Department of State Services (DSS) and the Nigerian Army of a flagrant breach of the fundamental rights of the detainees.
Read IPOB’s statement in full below:
So many of these people abducted since 2020 and 2021 are nowhere to be seen. They are:
1 Ikechukwu Henry
2. Joy Godwin Udoh aka Idara Gold
3. Emeka Ngonadi
4. Barr. Pius I. Awoke
5. Chinedu Nwoba
6. Igwe Johnson Dike
7. Ogbonna Joseph Ajah
8. Kingsley Onovu 9. Ogbonna David
10. Kenneth Ojima
11. Fortune Okezie
12. Joseph Okafor Eze
13. Emmanuel Onyibe Chinonso
14. Uket Godwin
15. Ogbonna Christian Ndubisi 16. Eze Ernest Chukwuemeka
17. Ibeleme Tochukwu
18. Emmanuel Ike
19. Rev Cletus Egole
20. Pst Philip Chinedu Egole
21. Chinonso Anyanwu
22. Kelechi Okeke
23. Godspower Chilemu
24. Chukwuma Nwaokike just to mention but a few
Just as the Legal Representatives of IPOB posited in their recent press interviews on October 17, 2022, the lawyers raised alarm over the abduction, illegal detention, and lack of access to over 200 Biafrans by Nigeria Security Agencies.
Many of these abductees are missing from various detention facilities where they were dumped.
IPOB has constantly alerted the world over the forceful disappearance of innocent citizens of Biafran both IPOB members and non-IPOB members for being a Biafra struggle sympathiser or a lover of Mazi Nnamdi Kanu that is enough to make the overzealous Nigeria terrorist Police and military to kidnap and illegally detain a person incommunicado.
Biafran youths have become endangered species that are being hunted down, illegally detained and/or extrajudicially executed at will by Nigeria Security Agents.
We are calling on the International Community, men and women of good conscience to prevail upon the Nigeria Government and her Security Operatives to release numerous innocent Biafran citizens in their detention facilities unconditionally or charge them to court.
We are aware that some of the Biafran detainees have been araigned in court but yet to be released.
For example Mazi Chuks Obasi’s case was taken to court a few months ago and justice was secured in his absence from the Court, because the Court ordered for his unconditional release but the Lawless Nigeria Government and its Security Agents refused to release him and nobody has seen him since.
In a similar way Miss Idara Gold was araigned in a court for the first time after over one year of illegal detention yesterday being October 19, 2022 after much pressure from IPOB, family, and associates including lawyers. Let’s recall that this Lady has not had access to her family and lawyers for almost one year after her abduction.
We expected that Justice Binta Nyako would have discharged her but unfortunately Binta Nyako in her court reminded Idara Gold to the Suleja prison without considering all the inhumane treatment she has been subjected to in the Military detention facilities.
We the world wide family of IPOB join the clarion call of IPOB Legal Representatives in calling Nigeria’s compromised Security Officers to release her without delay and All other illegally detained Biafrans abducted, and to stop future illegal abductions of our people.
We want this Government and her Security Agencies to understand that no amount of abductions, illegal detentions, and killings can stop our resolve in Biafra Restoration.
The earlier they understand his fact, and fix a date for a referendum for Biafrans to determine our fate, the better for all of us.
They have been killed by their people, the unknown gunmen