IPOB Alleges Demarketing Campaign, Lists Kanu’s Court Victories

The Indigenous People of Biafra (IPOB) has alleged de-marketing directed against it especially what it said are recent criticisms of its legal counsel, Barrister Aloy Ejimakor, listing what it described as a series of court rulings in favour of its leader, Nnamdi Kanu.

The group through its spokesperson, Comrade Emma Powerful on Thursday said Ejimakor has represented Kanu in cases before Nigerian courts as well as regional and international human rights bodies.

According to the statement, an Abia State High Court ruled in January 2022 that Kanu did not jump bail, in a case arising from a 2017 military raid on his home, and awarded damages. It said a Federal High Court in Umuahia later ruled in October 2022 that Kanu had been subjected to unlawful rendition, awarding further damages and ordering his release from detention. IPOB also said a state High Court in Enugu ruled in October 2023 that the 2017 proscription of IPOB was unconstitutional.

The statement further claimed that Ejimakor engaged the African Union Commission on Human and Peoples’ Rights and several United Nations human rights mechanisms between 2018 and 2022, which it said issued findings critical of Kanu’s detention and IPOB’s proscription.

It also cited a June 2025 ruling by a Kenyan court on the circumstances of Kanu’s rendition from Kenya to Nigeria.

IPOB said the cumulative damages awarded across these cases amount to approximately N9.5bn, adding that none of the rulings has been appealed by the federal government.

“No other lawyer who previously represented our leader and IPOB has ever attained this level of success,” the statement quoted the group as saying, describing Ejimakor as central to the group’s legal strategy.

The group used the statement to push back against what it called recent criticism of Ejimakor, without naming specific individuals or publications.

Kanu was convicted of treason-related charges in 2025 and sentenced to life sentence in Sokoto prison.