Ebun-Olu Adegboruwa, lawyer and activist says the proscription order given by the Federal Government against the Indigenous People of Biafra (IPOB) cannot stand.
Adegboruwa, who stated this in a release, said the body is not known in law as a legal entity.
According to him, it would have been a different thing, if the group had been registered in the country.
“If IPOB is registered in Nigeria, it could only sue and be sued in the corporate name of its incorporated trustees. The Attorney General, with all due respect, cannot file or maintain a suit in court against IPOB, in the manner formulated in this case. The supposed defendant in the case is not a registered entity in law.
“Furthermore, unlike other associations like the Nigerian Bar Association, IPOB is not recognised or mentioned or legitimised in any existing statute.
For a suit to be competent there must be proper parties before the court. In this case, the supposed defendant, IPOB, is a non-juristic person, against which no action can be maintained in any court of law,” he said.
Meanwhile, an Igbo socio-cultural and pressure group, Igboezue International and Diaspora, has described the declaration of the IPOB as a terrorist group as an insult to Igboezue.
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France, Uk deny complicity in IPOB operation
France and the United Kingdom have denied any complicity on the Indigenous People of Biafra (IPOB) crisis, saying they were never contacted by Nigeria on the issue.
Elendureportsonline.com recalls that Lai Mohammed, Minister of Information and Culture, on Wednesday referred to France as the financial headquarters of IPOB and complained that the British government allowed the group’s Radio Biafra to operate on its soil despite all the damages it is doing to Nigeria.
The French embassy in Abuja, in a statement on Thursday by Claude Abily, its Political Counsellor dismissed the minister’s remarks.
“The Embassy of France was surprised by the statement made yesterday by the Minister of Information and Culture indicating that the “financial headquarters” of IPOB were in France.
“We don’t have any knowledge of a particular presence of IPOB in France and the Nigerian authorities never got in touch with the Embassy on this point.
“We stand ready to examine any information which could support this statement. Furthermore, we would like to reiterate that France actively cooperates with Nigeria in the field of security and that we strongly support the unity of the country,” it said.
Similarly, the United Kingdom said that it did not receive any request from the Nigerian government to shut Radio Biafra.
Lai Mohammed had said that “Who does not know that the IPOB internal radio is located in London? We know the diplomatic moves we have been taking and approaching the UK, all the damages it (Radio Biafra) has done, but they don’t see it that way, for them (the British government), it is about freedom of expression.”
The British High Commission, in a statement by its Press & Public Affairs Officer, Joe Abuku, said “The UK is not aware of any representation from the Nigerian government about Radio Biafra.
“Were we to receive any such request, we would of course consider it carefully on the basis of the available evidence, recognising that freedom of speech and expression carries responsibilities.”
