KANU: IPOB issues threat, says 2027 elections will not be held in South East

The Indigenous People of Biafra (IPOB), on Monday issued a threat, saying the 2027 general elections will not be held in the South East region and other areas they call Biafraland, if the appeal of their leader, Nnamdi Kanu is not brought to justice.

Therefore, they are giving the Federal Government 14 days to meet their demands, or they will mobilize to boycott the 2027 general elections across Biafraland.

The head of the group’s State Directorate, Mazi Chris Nwaogu, revealed the ultimatum in a video broadcast, amid renewed concerns from Kanu’s family over the delay in the appeal hearing against his conviction and life sentence.

Kanu’s family recently revealed that he wrote to the Chief Judge of Nigeria (CJN) and the Chief Justice of the Court of Appeal, requesting that his pending case be immediately listed and heard.

Kanu’s current legal battle follows his arrest in 2015 on terrorism-related charges and other offences. He was initially granted bail in 2017 but then disappeared from Nigeria after security forces carried out a military operation at his residence in 2017.

He later reappeared in Nigeria in 2021 after being arrested in Kenya and brought back to the country. His lawyer challenged the circumstances surrounding his return and described it as an extraordinary performance.

In October 2022, the Court of Appeal in Abuja acquitted and acquitted Kanu, arguing, among other things, that the manner in which he was brought back to Nigeria had affected the legal basis for proceeding with the prosecution.

Nwaogu accused the Federal Government of failing to defend Kanu’s conviction before the Court of Appeal after moving quickly to secure his sentence.

He said: “The Federal Government has not filed the Respondent’s report; they have not appealed; they have not come to court. A country that rushed to sentence is now too afraid to uphold its sentence.

“We are giving them 14 days to submit Nnamdi Kanu’s appeal; if they refuse, we will consider boycotting the upcoming elections in Biafraland and beyond. A government that cannot face the Court of Appeal has no right to ask for our votes.”

IPOB officials warned that the group would consider mobilizing to boycott the 2027 elections if the government fails to act within the specified timeframe.

He also criticized the Nigerian court’s handling of Kanu’s case, alleging that the process from the trial to the appeal stage had exposed serious concerns about the country’s justice system.

Nwaogu further challenged the Supreme Court decision, which overturned Kanu’s dismissal and acquittal by the High Court.

He specifically faulted the judgment issued by Justice Lawal Garba, and maintained that the apex court exceeded its constitutional authority by pronouncing several charges dismissed by the High Court.

He said: “The judicial conspiracy through the courts to the remittances and silence at this time will embarrass the Chief Justice of Nigeria and all lawyers who still think this system is sound. This case will either reset the Nigerian justice system or expose it.”