Ipob names Chika Edoziem as its interim leader pending the release of Nnamdi Kanu

SECESSIONIST group the Indigenous People of Biafra (Ipob) has announced Mazi Chika Edoziem as its new leader saying he will pilot the affairs of the organisation until Nnamdi Kanu is released.

 

Highly controversial, Mr Kanu has been campaigning for the recreation of the independent republic of Biafra which broke away from Nigeria between July 1967 and January 1970 during the civil war. His campaign, which has led to the phenomenal growth of Ipob, has set him at odds with the Nigerian government who him arrested and put on trial for treason.

 

While the case was still pending, Mr Kanu was granted bail in April 2017 on health grounds but skipped his bail after flouting the conditions given to him by the court and fled Nigeria. However, in a dramatic development in June last year, Mr Kanu was abducted in Kenya in a commando operation carried out by Nigerian security operatives  and flown to Nigeria where his trial has resumed.

 

Nigeria's federal government has amended charges against Mr Kanu six times since his original arraignment in 2015. However, Mr Kanu's trial has proven to be problematic for the government, as his supporters shut down the southeast geo-political zone every Monday to protest his arrest.

 

According to Ipob spokesman Emma Powerful, Mazi Edoziem would relinquish the leadership role to Mr Kanu when he is released. Mazi Edoziem is believed to be Ipob's deputy leader.

 

Mr Powerful said: “For the avoidance of doubt, the directorate of state of the Indigenous People of Biafra headed by Mazi Chika Edoziem, is at the helm of affairs of the Biafra movement. Whenever our leader Mazi Nnamdi Kanu comes out, he hands over the Ipob structure back to him.”

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