EX-IPOB LAWYER URGES SOUTH-EAST RESIDENTS TO REJECT 2027 ELECTION BOYCOTT
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By; Sunmola Ganiyat
Renowned human rights lawyer and former lead counsel to the Indigenous People of Biafra, Sir Ifeanyi Ejiofor, has urged residents of the South-East to reject any call to boycott the 2027 general elections.
Ejiofor described an electoral boycott as another potential “tragedy” for the region, warning against actions that could undermine its political influence and economic interests.
His comments followed a 14-day ultimatum issued by IPOB spokesman, Emma Powerful, to the Federal Government over the delayed hearing of the appeal filed by the group’s detained leader, Mazi Nnamdi Kanu.
IPOB had threatened to mobilise for a boycott of the 2027 elections across the South-East and other parts of what it described as “Biafraland” if Kanu’s appeal was not listed and heard.
Reacting in a statement titled, “Ala-Igbo at a crossroads: Jettisoning electoral boycott before it becomes another tragedy,” issued on Thursday, Ejiofor said electoral participation should not be treated as an offence against the collective interest of the people.
He argued that the South-East should pursue its political objectives through constitutional, judicial, political and democratic channels rather than strategies whose consequences would be borne mainly by ordinary residents.
Ejiofor said the region had suffered enough from political crises and should not allow its peace, economy and future to be jeopardised by what he described as destructive political directives.
“Patriotism cannot mean deliberately weakening one’s own people. Resistance cannot mean destroying one’s own economic foundation,” he said.
The lawyer urged those claiming to speak for the people of the South-East to listen to their concerns and prioritise peace, development and legitimate avenues for pursuing justice.
“A people do not preserve their homeland by rendering it ungovernable; they preserve it by protecting its peace, strengthening its institutions and relentlessly pursuing justice through every legitimate avenue available to them,” Ejiofor said.
He called on residents of the region to reject any attempt to make electoral boycott a test of loyalty or patriotism, stressing that the Igbo people should not become “collateral damage” in another political confrontation.
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