October 27, (THEWILL) – A High Court sitting in Enugu has declared as unconstitutional, the proscription and designation of the Indigenous People of Biafra (IPOB) as a terrorist organisation by the Federal Government.
The ruling followed a suit brought before the court by the IPOB legal team, led by Aloy Ejimakor, challenging the 2017 proscription of IPOB and its designation as a terror organisation.
Delivering judgement on the suit marked E/20/2023 on Thursday, Justice A. O. Onovo declared that “the practical application of the Terrorism Prevention Act and the executive or administrative action of the Respondents (South-East Governors Forum and the Federal Government), which directly led to the proscription of IPOB and its listing as a terrorist group” was unconstitutional.
The court further held that “IPOB being comprised of citizens of Nigeria of the Igbo and other Eastern Nigerian ethnic groups, professing the political opinion of self-determination and the consequent arrest, detention and prosecution of the Applicant (MAZI NNAMDI KANU) as a member/leader of said IPOB is illegal, unlawful, unconstitutional and amounts to infringement of the Applicant’s fundamental right not to be subjected to any disabilities or restrictions based on his ethnicity as enshrined and guaranteed under Section 42 of the Constitution of the Federal Republic of Nigeria, 1999 (as amended) and his fundamental rights as enshrined under Articles 2,3,19 &20 of the African Charter on Human and People’s Rights (Enforcement and Ratification) Act.”
The court further held that “self-determination is not a crime and thus cannot be used as a basis to arrest, detain and prosecute the Applicant, MAZI NNAMDI KANU”
Justice Onovo “Ordered the Respondents, jointly or severally, to issue official Letter(s) of Apology to the Applicant (MAZI NNAMDI KANU) for the infringement of his said fundamental rights; and publication of said Letter(s) of Apology in three (3) national dailies.
“Ordered the Respondents to, jointly or severally, pay the sum of N8,000,000,000.00 (Eight Billion Naira) to the Applicant (MAZI NNAMDI KANU), being monetary damages claimed by the Applicant against the Respondents jointly and severally for the physical, mental, emotional, psychological, property and other damages suffered by the Applicant as a result of the infringements of his fundamental rights by the Respondents.”
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