IPOB suspends office of Leader, Radio Biafra Director position indefinitely

Politics

ENUGU, Nigeria (NPA) — The Directorate of State (DOS) of the Indigenous People of Biafra (IPOB) has announced the indefinite suspension of the office of the leader of the movement and the position of Director of Radio Biafra, both previously held by detained separatist leader, Nnamdi Kanu.

The decision was contained in a statement issued on June 18 and signed by the Head of the Directorate of State, Mazi Chikaedibia Edoziem, following a meeting of the organisation’s leadership held on June 17.

According to the group, the move forms part of ongoing efforts to reposition and strengthen the Biafran self-determination movement and ensure that its operations remain aligned with its stated objectives.

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IPOB maintained that it was established as a collective self-determination movement for the Biafran people and not by any single individual.

The organisation also insisted that no individual possesses the authority to dissolve the Directorate of State, which it described as the apex institution overseeing the affairs of the movement.

The group said it reviewed intelligence reports concerning alleged interactions involving Kanu and Nigerian security agencies while in detention and expressed concerns over what it described as security risks arising from communications attributed to him.

According to the statement, the leadership was also concerned about alleged plans by certain individuals to establish a militia and initiate violence in the South-East region.

The Directorate said the suspension was intended to prevent individuals or groups from claiming authority from the office of the IPOB leader to engage in actions inconsistent with the organisation’s declared non-violent philosophy.

“The pursuit of our inalienable right to self-determination is peaceful and non-violent and must never be a ground to cause harm, hardship and death to the same people we are fighting to extricate from the atrocities meted upon them by the Nigerian system,” the statement said.

The organisation stated that the suspension was also aimed at preventing what it described as reckless actions, unauthorised assumptions of authority and statements that could expose its members, particularly youths, to arrest, torture or death.

IPOB further declared that any criminal activity carried out in the name of the suspended office of the leader would not be attributed to the movement.

The group said it would no longer accept responsibility for actions taken by individuals or groups not holding active positions within its structure or those not expressly authorised by the Directorate of State.

The announcement marks a significant development within the leadership structure of IPOB, which has been at the centre of the agitation for the restoration of an independent Biafran state.