The Indigenous People of Biafra (IPOB) has gone to the Supreme Court to challenge its declaration by the Court of Appeal as a terrorist organisation.
The Court of Appeal had on January 30, 2025, in suit number, CA/A/214/2018, affirmed the judgement of the Federal High Court, Abuja that declared IPOB as a terrorist organisation.
The secessionist group had on February 7, 2025, approached the apex court, praying it to set aside the verdict of the Court of Appeal.
The IPOB notice and ground of appeal in the suit between it and the Attorney General of the Federation reads in part: “Take notice that the appellant being dissatisfied with the judgement of the Court of Appeal, Abuja Division, Coram: Hama Akawu Barka, O. E. Abang, O. O. Oyewunmi, JJCA on the 30th day of January, 2025 doth hereby appeal to the Supreme Court of Nigeria, upon the grounds set out in paragraph three below and will at the hearing of the appeal seek reliefs as set out in paragraph four hereof from the Supreme Court.”
The grounds of appeal on paragraph three stated: “The Honourable Court below erred in law when it held that what it termed ‘threat to national security’ or emergency is greater than (or in an exception to) the right of the appellant to fair hearing when it provided otherwise by Sections 36(2) and 45(1) of the Constitution of the Federal Republic of Nigeria, 1999 (as amended).
“The court below misapplied the law (in this case: the constitution) to the extent that it held that the appellant has no right to fair hearing (or to be on notice) in a proceeding that determined a question arising in the administration of the Terrorism Prevention (Amendment) act (hereafter: TPAA), which is a legal question bordering on whether or not the proceedings by which the appellant was proscribed/ declared a terrorist entity was conducted in accordance with the pertinent provisions of the constitution, especially as the ex parte order issuing from the said proceedings transformed to a final and conclusive decision when the respondent gazetted it and relied thereon to commence the arrests, detentions, prosecutions and even extrajudicial killings of alleged members of the appellant.”
