Biafra: What Appeal Court should do about our ban, terrorist designation – IPOB

The Indigenous People of Biafra (IPOB) has called for the cancellation of the proscription order against it.

IPOB urged the Abuja Division of the Court of Appeal to suspend the enforcement of the order for its proscription by the Federal High Court in Abuja in September 2017.

The separatist group made the call in a motion marked CA/A/214/2018 and filed by its counsel, Ifeanyi Ejiofor, for stay of execution of the proscription order with 19 grounds yesterday.

Part of the grounds on which the group anchored its application for stay of execution was that it had filed an appeal before the Court of Appeal in Abuja to challenge the proscription order.

The group’s appeal has the Attorney-General of the Federation, Mr. Abubakar Malami (SAN), as the sole defendant.

Acting Chief Judge of the Federal High Court, Justice Abdu Kafarati, had on September 20, 2017, ordered the proscription of the Nnamdi Kanu-led group.

Kafarati also designated IPOB as a terrorist group, after listening to an ex parte application by the AGF.

However, IPOB filed a motion before the same judge on September 22, 2017, contending with the proscription order, saying it was unconstitutional.

But, on March 1, 2018, IPOB filed a five-ground notice of appeal before the Court of Appeal in Abuja, challenging the proscription order and designation as a terrorist group.