The Indigenous People of Biafra on Friday threatened disciplinary action against members it accused of undermining the authority of its detained leader, Nnamdi Kanu, amid efforts to resolve a growing leadership dispute within the organisation.
In a statement issued by its Media and Publicity Secretary, Emma Powerful, the group warned that any member or faction acting contrary to Kanu’s directives or the organisation’s Code of Conduct would face sanctions, including suspension, removal from office and expulsion.
The warning follows a deepening rift within the movement after the dissolution of the third administration of IPOB’s Directorate of State, led by Chika Edoziem, and the inauguration of a new leadership headed by US-based Chris Nwaọgụ.
According to IPOB, Kanu exercised powers conferred on him by the organisation’s Code of Conduct to dissolve Edoziem’s administration and appoint a fourth Directorate of State.
The group maintained that Kanu remains the only person vested with the authority to appoint, suspend or dismiss principal officers within the organisation.
“Any individual or group that persists in defying the lawful authority of the Supreme Leader, undermining the command-and-control structure of IPOB, or acting contrary to the Code of Conduct shall face severe disciplinary measures, including suspension, removal from office, and expulsion from the movement,” the statement read.
It added, “The era of indiscipline, constitutional recklessness, and unauthorised power-grabbing within IPOB is over. The authority of the Supreme Leader remains supreme, unquestionable, and binding on all members.”
IPOB also declared that the third Directorate of State administration no longer exists and that any action taken by Edoziem or members of his team after their dissolution is invalid.
“The 3rd Administration of the Directorate of State no longer exists. Its tenure has been terminated by lawful authority and its powers extinguished. Consequently, any directive, instruction, statement, appointment, suspension, or administrative action purportedly issued by Chika Edoziem or any member of the dissolved administration after its dissolution is null, void, and incapable of creating any legal or organisational consequence within IPOB,” the group said.
The development highlights growing internal tensions within IPOB, the separatist movement campaigning for the restoration of an independent Biafra state in Nigeria’s South-East.
The organisation has experienced periodic leadership disputes since Kanu’s arrest and continued detention by the Nigerian government. Kanu was first arrested in 2015 on charges bordering on treasonable felony. He later fled Nigeria while on bail in 2017, was rearrested in Kenya in June 2021 and subsequently returned to Nigeria.
Despite his detention and the ongoing legal proceedings against him, IPOB has consistently maintained that Kanu remains its supreme leader and retains ultimate authority over the movement’s affairs.
The dispute over the Directorate of State leadership represents one of the most significant internal crises the organisation has faced in recent years, with rival camps contesting legitimacy and authority within the movement.
