The Indigenous People of Biafra (IPOB) has given the Federal Government a 14-day ultimatum to ensure the immediate listing and hearing of its detained leader, Nnamdi Kanu’s appeal, threatening to mobilise for a boycott of the 2027 general elections across the South-East and other parts of “Biafraland” if the demand is not met.
The ultimatum was contained in a statement issued on Tuesday by IPOB spokesman, Emma Powerful, following renewed concerns by Kanu’s family over the delay in hearing his appeal against his conviction and life sentence.
Powerful said Kanu had written to the Chief Justice of Nigeria and the President of the Court of Appeal, requesting the immediate listing and hearing of his pending cases.
He accused the Federal Government of avoiding the appellate court after moving swiftly to prosecute and secure Kanu’s conviction.
According to him, the group would consider mobilising for an election boycott if the government failed to act within the 14-day period.
“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 statement said.
IPOB alleged that the Federal Government had neither filed a respondent’s brief nor taken steps to have the appeal listed for hearing.
“The Federal Government has not filed a respondent’s brief; it has not listed the appeal, and it has not come to court. A country that rushed to convict is now too frightened to defend the conviction,” it said.
The group further questioned the legal basis for Kanu’s conviction and continued detention.
“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,” IPOB said.
It added: “Nigeria must answer two simple questions: 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?”
IPOB faults Supreme Court decision
The group also faulted the Supreme Court’s decision which overturned Kanu’s discharge and acquittal by the Court of Appeal.
IPOB argued that the apex court exceeded its constitutional powers by pronouncing on individual counts which, according to the group, had already been quashed by the Court of Appeal.
It maintained that the Federal Government must therefore defend both Kanu’s conviction and the jurisdictional basis upon which his resumed trial was conducted.
On the threat to boycott the 2027 elections, IPOB dismissed arguments that non-participation would only make it easier for election results to be manipulated.
The group argued that a collective decision not to participate could itself serve as a political statement.
“At some point, people must ask whether repeatedly participating in a process they believe is structurally incapable of delivering justice is itself the definition of political progress,” the statement said.
“A collective refusal to participate sends its own message: a people have withdrawn their consent from a system they no longer trust.”