The Indigenous People of Biafra has announced the suspension of the Office of its Leader, occupied by detained separatist agitator Nnamdi Kanu, alongside the office of the Director of Radio Biafra, in a move that signals a deepening leadership crisis within the organisation.
The decision was reached during a full meeting of the group’s Directorate of State held on Wednesday after members reviewed intelligence reports relating to communications allegedly emanating from Kanu while in detention.
In a statement issued on Thursday by the Head of the Directorate of State, Mazi Chikadibia Edoziem, the group said the Directorate would henceforth oversee the administration and day-to-day operations of IPOB.
The leadership body stressed that IPOB was founded by a collective of Biafrans in the diaspora and not by any single individual, insisting that no person possesses the authority to dissolve the Directorate of State, which it described as the organisation’s highest decision-making structure.
According to the statement, the action became necessary following concerns that certain communications linked to Kanu had exposed members of the group to arrests and fatalities in the South-East.
The Directorate further alleged that activities and interactions involving Kanu in custody were under close surveillance by security agencies, raising fears that information obtained through such channels could be exploited against the group.
It also expressed concern over what it described as attempts by some individuals to establish a new militia force capable of reigniting violence in the region.
The leadership maintained that suspending the offices would help prevent what it termed unchecked actions, reckless assumptions of authority and statements capable of endangering the lives of Biafran youths.
It added that any unlawful activities carried out under the authority of the suspended offices would no longer be attributed to IPOB, stressing that the organisation would not accept responsibility for the actions of persons who do not currently hold recognised positions within its structure.
The latest development comes barely a day after reports emerged that Kanu had dissolved the Edoziem-led third administration of the Directorate of State.
Kanu was also reported to have constituted a new, fourth administration of the Directorate and appointed United States-based Chris Nwaogu as its head.
In a separate statement issued by IPOB spokesperson Emma Powerful, Nwaogu was said to have been directed to immediately assume responsibility for coordinating and managing the affairs of the movement under Kanu’s authority.
The Directorate of State was established by Kanu in 2012 as the administrative arm of IPOB. Previous heads of the body include Dr Justin Akujieze, Mazi Uchenna Asiegbu and Chika Edoziem, who took office in March 2017 during Kanu’s earlier detention.
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