The Indigenous People of Biafra (IPOB) has called on the Federal Government to release people it says are being unlawfully detained across the country, alleging prolonged detention and violations of their fundamental rights.
The group said its legal team had identified 83 people allegedly transferred from military custody at Wawa Barracks in Kainji, Niger State, to correctional facilities in Kuje, Keffi and Suleja.
IPOB made the demand in a statement issued by its Media and Publicity Secretary, Emma Powerful, following the recent court-ordered release of four Igbo men who reportedly spent nearly four years in the custody of the Department of State Services (DSS).
In the statement, titled The Persecution of Biafrans Must End: A Demand for Accountability and Rule of Law, the organisation said the release of the four men should not be regarded as the end of concerns surrounding the detention of other people linked to the Biafran movement.
It maintained that several others remained behind bars, with some allegedly serving life sentences in cases connected to their purported membership of the organisation.
The group argued that no individual should be imprisoned solely on the basis of alleged association with IPOB, insisting that prosecutors must establish specific criminal offences against each defendant.
IPOB also questioned the legal basis of its proscription, arguing that the process did not comply with the presidential approval requirements it said were stipulated under the Terrorism (Prevention) Act 2013.
The organisation further cited what it described as an existing court ruling concerning its legal status, while disclosing that an appeal challenging its proscription remained pending before the Supreme Court.
It called on the Federal Government, particularly the Office of the Attorney-General of the Federation, to account for the 83 detainees it said had been identified in correctional facilities across Kuje, Keffi and Suleja.
The group also appealed to the United Nations, the United States Government and the European Union to intervene over what it described as violations of the rights of detained Biafrans.
IPOB insisted that the release of the four men after years in DSS custody should prompt a wider examination of other detention cases involving people associated with the Biafran agitation.
“The release of the four is not the end of the matter. It is an indictment of the system that kept them imprisoned for four years,” the statement said.
The organisation renewed its demand for the release of everyone it considers unlawfully detained and called for greater accountability in the handling of cases involving its members.
The allegations and legal arguments were presented by IPOB. The Federal Government’s response to the latest demands was not included in the statement reviewed.
