United States District Court for the District of Columbia against

At Page 4 of the 35-page Motion obtained by this reporter, Plaintiffs lawyers stated that “Despite an overture by the Government of Nigeria, the United States Department of State has refrained from suggesting any Defendant is immune from Plaintiffs’ TVPA claims under federal common law or otherwise. Neither has the State Department suggested that any Defendant is a head of state in Nigeria”. In a counter Motion filed on February 6, 2018, the US-based lawyers for the Biafran plaintiffs who brought suit against some Nigerian officials have strongly urged a United States federal court to proceed to trial on the merits, stressing the damning fact the the US State Department has rejected a request from the Buhari-led Nigerian government for the State Department to intervene and stop the suit based on the sovereign immunity defense 
The counter Motion was necessitated by a motion filed by defence lawyers to dismiss the suit based on grounds that included the act of state doctrine, lack of jurisdiction and sovereign immunity. Dr Bruce Fein and associates, lawyers to the Biafran Plaintiffs argued in-opposite that such defenses are not allowed under the Statutes upon which the suit was brought.
Plaintiffs’ counsel also argued that defence Motions are questionable because the defense lawyers are, before the court, fighting amongst themselves as to who should be recognized to represent the defendants.
The case is pending before the United States District Court for the District of Columbia against sixteen Nigerian officials for their direct or indirect complicity in the extrajudicial killings of IPOB members/Biafrans who had launched peaceful protests in the wake of arrest and detention of their leader, Nnamdi Kanu.
The officials are: Tukur Yusuf Buratai; Lawal Musa Daura; Ibrahim Attahiru; M.I. Ibrahim; Kasim Umar Sidi; Issah Maigari Abdullahi; Solomon Arase; Ibrahim Kpotun Idris; Okezie Ikpeazu; Willie Obiano; Habila Hosea; Peter Nwagbara; James Oshim Nwafor; Hosea Karma; Bassey Abang; and Johnson Babatunde Kokomo.
In the counter motion, counsel to Plaintiffs argued, amongst others, that jurisdiction has vested through service of the summons and complaint by certified international courier on all defendants.
The Suit is grounded on two muscular United States’ statutes – the Alien Tort Claims Act (ATCA or ATS – the Alien Tort Statute); and the Torture Victims Protection Act (TVPA). Both laws have extraterritorial reach, meaning that they allow US federal courts to assert long-arm jurisdiction that extends beyond the borders of United States.
Alien Tort Claims Act (ATCA) provides that ‘the district courts shall have original jurisdiction on any civil action by an alien (foreigner) for a civil wrong committed in violation of the law of nations or a treaty of the United States’. Since 1980, courts have interpreted this statute to allow foreign citizens to seek remedies in US courts for human rights violations for conduct committed outside the United States.
Torture Victim Protection Act of 1991 is a statute that permits civil suits in the United States against foreign individuals who – acting in an official capacity for any foreign nation – committed torture and/or extrajudicial killings.
In the suit, Plaintiffs lawyers argued that ‘The factual case against the Defendants is convincing. The world already knows of the widespread beatings and slaughter of protesting Igbos/IPOB by elements of Nigerian security forces at various locations after Nnamdi Kanu was arrested. Amnesty International and other credible foreign sources have confirmed those killings and torture’. Those reports were filed in Court.
Beyond the latest processes, and at the ensuing trial, Defendants will be required to personally appear before the US court to testify under oath and probing cross-examination that will dwell on the details of the IPOB killings and the complicity of other unnamed Nigerian officials.

IPOB, its problems began shortly after Trump pronounced Jerusalem as the capital of Israel.

According to IPOB, its problems began shortly after Trump pronounced Jerusalem as the capital of Israel.
The statement reads, “We, the family members of the Indigenous People of Biafra, worldwide, condemn the ongoing religious persecution, harassment and arrest of IPOB members, especially those of the Shalom Synagogue Church of Israel in Aba, Abia State, last week
“Since President Trump announced US recognition of Jerusalem as the capital of Israel, the wave of arbitrary arrests and persecution of Biafrans that practise Judaism in Aba and Port Harcourt have dramatically increased.
“Nigerian government is setting a very ugly and dangerous precedent. Those arrested for their faith must be released immediately, including all those illegally detained for expressing their legitimately held views that they are better off in Biafra than Nigeria.
The Indigenous People of Biafra, IPOB, has cried out that its members in Aba, Abia and and Port Harcourt, the Rivers State capital, are being arrested and persecuted by Nigerian security agencies since US President, Donald Trump recognised Jerusalem as the capital of Israel.
The claim was part of Saturday’s statement by IPOB’s Media and Publicity Secretary, Emma Powerful, where the group lamented open persecution of its religious group, Shalon Synagogue Church of Israel.
“Arresting members of Shalom Christian Church because they are connected to the Jews in Israel is religious discrimination of the worst kind.
“Every religion has a root and in as much as nobody can deny that Saudi Arabia is the root of Islam, nobody can deny that Israel is the foundation of both Judaism and later Christianity.”

subsequently paraded some Biafra activists in Aba, Abia State.

 

It was gathered that about seven Biafra activists were arrested in a Jewish synagogue in Aba during a prayer meeting.     Police have arrested and subsequently paraded some Biafra activists in Aba, Abia State.
A police source said the men were holding “illegal meeting,” an allegation which the men refuted, saying they were only praying in the synagogue before they were arrested.
Commissioner of Police in the State, Mr. Anthony Ogbizi, had while parading the suspects on Monday in Umuahia, said they were arrested with IPOB and Biafra insignia, arguing that IPOB remains an outlawed terrorist organization.
He said IPOB members had devised a new strategy to further their agitation for Biafra by joining the same religious group of their leader, Nnamdi Kanu, and using their synagogue as a clandestine meeting place.
Asked why police also paraded some members of Biafra Independent Movement since the organization is not proscribed, Ogbizi said if they did something contrary to the law, they would also be arrested.
He said the police would not allow any part of Abia to be used as a “breeding ground for terrorists.”
But irked by the development, Ohanaeze Youth Council has called for the immediate release of the Biafra agitators, insisting they have committed no offense to be paraded as criminals.
National President of OYC, Mazi Okechukwu Isiguzoro, said the police had no moral justification to arrest peaceful agitators seeking self-determination, whereas armed herdsmen have continued in their killing spree unchecked.
Isiguzoro urged the security agencies to go after “murderous herdsmen” who are “known terrorists committing genocide across Nigeria,” instead of dissipating energy on nonviolent agitators.
He called on the Inspector General of Police, Ibrahim Idris, to order the immediate release of the arrested Biafra activists so as not to create “unnecessary tension” in South East again.

the pro-Biafra agitator stressed that people of the South East are good at “double-crossing” their own. He said, “I formed MASSOB. As a matter of fact, I am the originator of the new Biafra

 

Nnamdi Kanu, Igbo people are blackmailers, backbiters – Uwazuruike

the pro-Biafra agitator stressed that people of the South East are good at “double-crossing” their own. He said, “I formed MASSOB. As a matter of fact, I am the originator of the new Biafra  
“I went to London and floated Radio Biafra there. I needed somebody to operate it and I appointed Nnamdi Kanu as the director but he felt that the best thing he could do was to blackmail me with the radio.
“Yes, with my own radio station! It is not new because that is the nature of an Igbo man. It is for the Igbo man to backbite, to double-cross his brother; and that is why we are behind the Nigerian scheme. As long as the Igbo man continues with that mentality, the Igbo race is doomed. Look at what is happening in the political parties.”
Ralph Uwazuruike, founder of the Movement for the Actualisation of the Sovereign State of Biafra, MASSOB, has described the leader of the Indigenous People of Biafra, IPOB, Nnamdi Kanu and Igbo people as “backbiter and blackmailers.”
Uwazuruike made the remark while reiterating his earlier claim that Kanu took over Radio Biafra from him in London. 

Nnamdi Kanu, Igbo people are blackmailers, backbiters – Uwazuruike

Speaking with Punch, the pro-Biafra agitator stressed that people of the South East are good at “double-crossing” their own.
He said, “I formed MASSOB. As a matter of fact, I am the originator of the new Biafran struggle. I originated it in 1999 and no other group spoke of Biafra before 1999. I also said it that we would allow the formation of other groups. I studied Political Science and Law and I have read many issues on struggles and revolutions and concluded that there was no way one body (a group) could achieve Biafra without other factions.
“I went to London and floated Radio Biafra there. I needed somebody to operate it and I appointed Nnamdi Kanu as the director but he felt that the best thing he could do was to blackmail me with the radio.
“Yes, with my own radio station! It is not new because that is the nature of an Igbo man. It is for the Igbo man to backbite, to double-cross his brother; and that is why we are behind the Nigerian scheme. As long as the Igbo man continues with that mentality, the Igbo race is doomed. Look at what is happening in the political parties.”

The Indigenous People of Biafra (IPOB), on Wednesday alleged that the President Muhammadu Buhari-led government is persecuting people of the South East.

IPOB made the allegation in reaction to the arrest of its members from the Shalom Synagogue Church of Israel in Aba, Abia State.
The pro-Biafra group stated that said it was unfortunate that the Nigerian government through the instrumentality of the police and the Department of State Services, DSS, have reduced themselves to playing the role of religious police.
In a statement by its spokesperson, Emma Powerful, the group stressed that the police and DSS have effectively constituted themselves into instruments with which enemies of Israel in the Nigerian government are now using to suppress those practicing Judaism.
The statement reads, “It is on record that IPOB activities are firmly anchored on the finest Judeo-Christian traditions, which has made Biafrans and IPOB in particular the target of these state sponsored indiscriminate and arbitrary arrests of innocent civilians by agents of Nigerian government in pursuit of an Islamist agenda. There has been repeated raids of synagogues and places of worship in Aba and Igweocha (Port Harcourt) respectively. 
The Indigenous People of Biafra (IPOB), on Wednesday alleged that the President Muhammadu Buhari-led government is persecuting people of the South East.


“Security operatives whose constitutional role is to protect the lives and property of citizens, have now turned to instruments of oppression against innocent civilian populations.
“Arresting members of Shalom Christian Church because they are connected to the Jews in Israel is religious discrimination of the worst kind. Every religion has a root and in as much as nobody can deny that Saudi Arabia is the root of Islam, nobody can deny that Israel is the foundation of both Judaism and later Christianity. Discrimination based of religious affiliation to Israel is misplaced and a crime against the very principles of freedom of worship and association.
“Since President Trump announced US recognition of Jerusalem as the eternal capital of Israel, the wave of arbitrary arrests and persecution of Biafrans that practice Judaism in Aba and Igweocha (Port Harcourt) have dramatically increased.
“Nigerian Government, by towing this path, is setting a very ugly and dangerous precedent. Those arrested for their faith must be released immediately including all those illegally detained for expressing their legitimately held views that they are better off in Biafra than Nigeria.   
“We want to bring it to the notice of the entire world what IPOB in particular and Biafrans are suffering in general at the hands of this Buhari administration. The world must therefore prevail upon Nigeria to desist from this blatant religious persecution and release those in their custody.
“Members of the Shalom Synagogue of Israel in Aba did not commit any crime known to law. They are a spiritual congregation merely being persecuted for their spiritual connection to the holy land of Israel.
“It is the responsibility of the government and people of Israel as custodians of the Judaic faith to rise to this challenge the same way Saudi Arabia and other Arab countries defend Muslim faithful all over the world”.

Buhari’s govt allowing Cameroon to abduct Bakassi indigenes – Biafra group

 

National leader of the Biafra Nations Youth League, BNYL, Princewill Obuka, has accused the Buhari-led government of looking the other way while the Cameroonian government “abducts” people of Bakassi.

Obuka, who was released a few days ago from police detention after his arrest on January 16, 2018 alongside Linus Essien, youth leader of the displaced people of Bakassi, said this in a chat with newsmen on Monday in Owerri.    

He said: “The group is worried that forces from Cameroon crossed into Nigeria and abducted members of Southern Cameroon in Bakassi early this January.

“It is unfortunate that Nigerian government is supporting the action of Cameroon government against the people of the region.

“On 16 January I was arrested by the police alongside Linus Essien, Youth leader of the displaced people of Bakassi and many others on the flimsy excuses that they are supporting the southern Cameroon separatists group”.

He also lamented the neglect of hundreds of refugees from the ceded towns who are being harassed daily by Cameroon gendarmes over taxes.    

Obuka said only an independent Biafra would end the suffering of the people and called on the people of former Eastern region to support the Biafra struggle.

The Biafra group leader, however, warned, “Fulani jihadists masquerading as herdsmen in any part of the South east and South south” to leave the region.

The Indigenous People of Biafra (IPOB) has declared that it will instantly end all agitations for an independent state of Biafra if certain standard democratic norms are embraced by the Nigerian government.

The Indigenous People of Biafra (IPOB) has declared that it will instantly end all agitations for an independent state of Biafra if certain standard democratic norms are embraced by the Nigerian government.

The group’s spokesman, Emma Powerful, made the declaration while responding to the question whether the emergence of a president of Igbo extraction in 2019 can end the agitation for Biafra.

He said, “Nothing can make IPOB back down from this divine quest to restore the lost sovereignty of Biafra. Only the will of the people, clearly expressed during a referendum.

 We hear Nnia Nwodo, Ohanaeze Ndigbo, Igbo governors and Abuja-based errand boys, that we ignorantly refer to as politicians or elites, tell us South East and South South people do not want Biafra, which is a lie.

“There is only one way to establish the truth and settle this matter once and for all time. That is referendum. If we lose in a referendum, we stop the agitation for Biafra same day. The will of the people is what must prevail under this and every circumstance.”

On the possibility of coming to the negotiation table with the FG, IPOB maintained that Nigeria is not yet civilised enough to understand what dialogue means.

“Neither are they known for keeping to the terms of any agreement reached. Name one agreement Nigeria entered into that run it’s course. They think we are for settlement, how mistaken they are. We will only consider meeting them through a reliable third party or mediator.”

Powerful continues, “History tells us that all conflicts end up on the conference table. Bearing this in mind, we will be willing to discuss with civilised, sensible parties on how best to speedily facilitate the peaceful dissolution of Nigeria. Many nationalities in the Middle Belt are on the brink of annihilation due to incessant Fulani terrorist attacks. It is a condition that is clearly unsustainable. The best way to go is referendum.”

On the alleged IPOB offensive and violent approach to self determination, IPOB denied and dismissed it as lies and fables peddled by the FG to justify their serial massacre and brutality against IPOB.
Emma Powerful said, “It is very sad and unfortunate that people don’t know the meaning of the phrase ‘violent approach’. Violence doesn’t need dressing up in convoluted grammar because a situation is either violent or it is not. What Fulani people are doing is violent.

What the Nigerian Army dominated by Fulani men are doing is violent. Those of you peddling the myth that IPOB preach violence are the same Abuja rented boys and slaves in the mould of Ukpabi Asika. They will do and say anything to please their Hausa Fulani masters in order to hold on to political power and privilege.

The same way Britain imposed unwanted corrupt men as Warrant Chiefs across Biafraland during the colonial era is exactly the template the North adopted in the aftermath of the Civil War to dominate, control and subjugate Igboland and the rest of Biafraland. Have you heard of any Emir, Sultan,

Governor or politician from the North condemn Fulani herdsmen who are actively killing people on a daily basis? You know the answer to that. Only in Igboland will a washed out, completely useless politician, beholden to Abuja for his dear life, rise to the position of a leader. No other society will accept such anomaly. IPOB is not violent and we don’t intend to pick up arms anytime soon, when we do, the world will know.”

On why IPOB launched an Hausa radio service, Powerful said, “Hausa Service of Radio Nigeria, mind you NOT Radio Biafra, was launched in response to the failed attempt by the Nigerian state security service (DSS) to infiltrate and destroy IPOB from within. The Nigerian Government created a parallel radio station which we have since renamed Radio Buhari International to reflect its true ownership. They proceeded to launch another radio on shortwave frequency with our sacred name.

Both stations are based in the US. They named a non existent person the leader of the great IPOB and claimed our leader and founder, Mazi Nnamdi Kanu, has been replaced by this nonentity. It was at this point we decided late last year to launch a Hausa language service to take our unique enlightenment to the oppressed ethnic minorities in the North because no enlightened society can swallow such junk. There is quality information deficit across the North which this Hausa radio service run by IPOB, on Shortwave, will address.”

He explained why they settled for Hausa, instead of any other Nigerian language.
“We chose Hausa language because the majority of those at the receiving end of the falsehood propagated by the cabals in the North are their fellow core Arewa Northerners. Educating the impoverished, down-trodden masses of the North to understand the evil being committed in their

name is important -the most important assignment today. We are convinced that mass illiteracy and lack of access to unbiased information is the reason a majority of Hausa Fulani people live and die in abject poverty and ignorance while their ruling class loot and accumulate all the wealth accruing to

them. Hausa Service of Radio Nigeria will provide a different perspective in news coverage and analysis that will liberate the masses of the North from centuries old stranglehold of the Fulani ruling class. Put in simple terms, the Fulani hegemonic rule over Indigenous Northern tribes has come to an end with the advent of this Hausa Service radio station,” he said.