IPOB speaks on Kanu’s expulsion of former leaders

The Indigenous People of Biafra (IPOB) has again defended the indefinite expulsion of 10 former senior officials, accusing them of betraying the movement’s leader, Nnamdi Kanu, and actively undermining efforts to secure his release.

The purge targets key high-ranking figures, including the former head of the 3rd Directorate of State, Mazi Chika Edoziem.

This development comes amid a severe leadership crisis within the separatist group.

In a statement issued on Monday, Mazi Solomon Egbo, the Deputy Head of IPOB’s newly constituted 4th Directorate of State (DoS), described Kanu’s decision to dissolve the previous leadership structure and expel some of its members as “painful but necessary.”

He further alleged that the affected officials repeatedly violated the IPOB Constitution and Code of Conduct and threatened the survival of the organisation.

According to him, members of the former DOS leadership abandoned Kanu during his detention, failed to provide adequate support for other detained pro-Biafra agitators, and ignored directives aimed at securing medical treatment for the IPOB leader while in custody.

Egbo further alleged that the expelled officials frustrated fundraising efforts initiated by pro-Biafra groups to address Kanu’s health challenges during his incarceration.

He also accused members of the dissolved leadership of working against legal efforts to secure Kanu’s release by attacking members of his legal team and maintaining ties with former IPOB counsel, Ifeanyi Ejiofor, despite directives distancing the movement from him.

The IPOB official claimed that the former leadership failed to adequately defend the October 13, 2022 judgment of the Court of Appeal, which discharged Kanu and questioned the jurisdiction of Nigerian courts over his trial following his rendition from Kenya.

According to Egbo, rather than consolidating that legal victory, the affected officials promoted narratives blaming members of Kanu’s family for subsequent legal developments.

He described the claims as false and intended to justify opposition to the IPOB leader’s authority.

The statement further alleged that the expelled officials spread false accusations against Kanu’s brothers, disregarded repeated directives from the detained leader, and attempted to discourage supporters by claiming that President Bola Tinubu would only release Kanu if he renounced the Biafra agitation.

Among other allegations, Egbo accused the former officials of fabricating claims that unnamed African countries had advised them to abandon Kanu, removing officers appointed by him without authorisation, and altering the IPOB oath of office to promote loyalty to individuals rather than the movement’s objectives.

He alleged that the actions of the dissolved leadership amounted to a sustained effort to weaken IPOB, undermine Kanu’s influence and create parallel structures within the organisation.

“The expulsions are indefinite and take immediate effect,” Egbo said, insisting that the affected individuals no longer represent IPOB or the Biafran cause.

He urged supporters across Nigeria and the diaspora to rally behind the newly inaugurated Fourth Directorate of State led by Chris Nwaọgụ, while reaffirming that the movement’s primary objective remains Kanu’s unconditional release and the actualisation of Biafra.

The development comes amid growing internal tensions within IPOB following Kanu’s dissolution of the Third Directorate of State and the emergence of a new leadership structure.