IPOB THREATENS TO BOYCOTT 2027 ELECTIONS OVER DELAY IN KANU’S CASE
Read Time:2 Minute, 19 Second
By:Tajudeen Aminat
The Indigenous People of Biafra has issued a 14-day ultimatum to the Federal Government, demanding the immediate listing and hearing of the appeal filed by its detained leader, Nnamdi Kanu, or risk a boycott of the 2027 general elections across the South-East and other parts of what it refers to as “Biafraland.”
IPOB’s spokesman, Emma Powerful, disclosed this in a statement on Tuesday, saying the ultimatum followed renewed concerns from Kanu’s family over the delay in hearing his appeal against his conviction and life sentence.
According to Powerful, Kanu had written to the Chief Justice of Nigeria and the President of the Court of Appeal, requesting that his pending cases be listed and heard without further delay.
He accused the Federal Government of deliberately avoiding the appellate court after moving swiftly to secure Kanu’s conviction.
IPOB warned that it could mobilise for a boycott of the 2027 elections if the government failed to act within the 14-day period.
The statement read, “IPOB is giving the Federal Government 14 days to list and hear Onyendu Mazi Nnamdi Kanu’s appeal. If they refuse, we will consider boycotting the coming elections across Biafraland and beyond. A government that cannot face its Court of Appeal has no right to demand our votes.”
The group alleged that the Federal Government had neither filed its respondent’s brief nor taken steps to list the appeal, describing the situation as a contrast to the speed with which Kanu was prosecuted and convicted.
IPOB said, “The Federal Government was in a hurry to prosecute and convict Onyendu Mazi Nnamdi Kanu. Now that the conviction is before the Court of Appeal, that same urgency has disappeared. No meaningful progress. No urgency to defend the conviction.”
The organisation also questioned the legal basis for Kanu’s conviction and continued detention, asking, “Under which extant written law was Mazi Nnamdi Kanu convicted on November 20, 2025? What specific crime, cognisable under Nigerian law, justifies his continued detention after nearly six years?”
The group criticised the Supreme Court’s decision overturning Kanu’s discharge and acquittal by the Court of Appeal. IPOB maintained that the apex court exceeded its constitutional powers by ruling on individual counts that had previously been quashed by the Court of Appeal.
It argued that the Federal Government must defend both Kanu’s conviction and the jurisdictional basis of the resumed trial.
IPOB also rejected arguments that an election boycott would create room for electoral manipulation, maintaining that mass non-participation would itself constitute a political statement.
The group said a collective decision to stay away from the polls would demonstrate that the people had withdrawn their confidence and consent from a system they believed was incapable of delivering justice.
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