IPOB affirms support for leader, faults A’Court for not listing case

An Israeli lobbyist, Heidi Moses, yesterday called for greater international attention to the case of the leader of the proscribed Indigenous People of Biafra (IPOB), Nnamdi Kanu.

She raised the issue while responding to questions on Britain’s position on the Israeli-Palestinian conflict and possible sanctions against Israel. Moses disclosed this during a television interview in Israel, where she said she represents the Biafran cause at the Israeli Knesset.

Moses linked the Biafran question to Britain’s colonial history in Nigeria, arguing that British colonial policies were responsible for the political structure that brought the territory now known as Nigeria together.

She said: “I want to talk about the hypocrisy of Britain. I represent Biafra at the Knesset. Biafra is under the horrible control of Nigeria. I am talking about a population of 50 to 70 million that live under the Nigerian government.”

Moses also alleged that people in the region had suffered violence and loss of life, and referred to claims by some Jewish religious figures in Israel concerning alleged links between some Biafrans and the biblical tribe of Gad.

She further said the Biafran issue had been raised with members of the Israeli parliament following meetings involving a delegation she described as representing Biafra. According to Moses, members of the Knesset who met the delegation included Limor Son Har-Melech, Nissim Vaturi and Afif Abed.

She said the parliamentarians expressed interest in the Biafran question and that letters had subsequently been sent to the United Nations (UN) concerning Kanu’s detention.

She added: “I brought the distinguished Biafran delegation to the Knesset, the Israeli parliament, and they were welcomed very warmly. They also sent letters to the UN concerning the arbitrary detention of the leader of Biafra, Nnamdi Kanu.”

Kanu, who has been a prominent advocate for Biafran self-determination, was arrested and prosecuted by the Nigerian government over activities connected to his separatist campaign.

He was convicted by a Federal High Court in Abuja on treason-related charges and sentenced to life imprisonment. He is currently serving the sentence in Sokoto.

Moses disputed the basis of Kanu’s imprisonment, saying he was detained because of his political views and his advocacy for Biafran independence. Her characterisation of Kanu’s case contrasts with the Nigerian government’s position and the outcome of the criminal proceedings, in which he was convicted on treason-related offences.

Moses also used the interview to criticise Britain’s role in Nigeria’s history, arguing that its colonial policies contributed to the political arrangements that remain contested by Biafran separatists.

MEANWHILE, members of IPOB in Australia have declared that they would not abandon their incarcerated leader, Kanu, despite his current ordeals.

Leader of the IPOB in Australia, Ifeanyi Onuorah, said Kanu remains the symbol of hope for the restoration of the Biafra republic.

He stated that his battles had always centred around the liberation of the common man, stressing that Kanu’s current predicaments are deliberately orchestrated to truncate his activism against the oppressive leadership of the country.

Onuorah, who was particularly irked by the inability of the Federal Government to file a defense in regards to the suit filed by Kanu against his conviction, stated that it was time to free him from captivity.

Additionally, IPOB, yesterday, queried the continued detention of Kanu “under a dead repealed statute which the laws of Nigeria, including its constitution, said should not happen.”

A statement by the Media and Publicity Secretary of the IPOB, Emma Powerful, said the Nigerian government had filed nothing in the Court of Appeal within the specified period of the constitution against the appeal by Kanu.

Wondering why the Court of Appeal has refused to list the case, even when the time frame allowed for filing had elapsed, it stated that it was not justified and wondered why the government would dictate the outcome in the courtroom.