IPOB Says Nigerian Government Owes Nnamdi Kanu N9.5bn in Unappealed Court Judgments

The Indigenous People of Biafra (IPOB) has claimed that the Nigerian government owes its leader, Mazi Nnamdi Kanu, a total of N9.5 billion in damages arising from court judgments that it says were never appealed.

The claim was made in a clarification issued on Thursday by the fourth administration of the IPOB Directorate of State (DOS) and signed by the group’s spokesperson, Emma Powerful.

According to IPOB, the statement was issued in response to what it described as sustained misinformation and a campaign to discredit Kanu and his Special Counsel, Aloy Ejimakor.

The group said Ejimakor had recorded several landmark legal victories at both domestic and international levels in the pursuit of justice and Kanu’s freedom.

IPOB, however, alleged that the Nigerian government had failed to comply with judgments delivered in Kanu’s favour.

“These judgments were brazenly disobeyed by the Nigerian state. All remain subsisting and unoverturned. The Federal Republic of Nigeria, the DSS, the Nigerian Army, and the South-East Governors’ Forum stand thoroughly defeated in multiple courts and cumulatively owe Mazi Nnamdi Kanu a whopping N9.5 billion in damages,” the group stated.

It further claimed that none of the judgments had been appealed by the Federal Government.

IPOB listed three major domestic judgments it said contributed to the alleged N9.5 billion liability.

According to the group, in January 2022, an Abia State High Court in Umuahia ruled that Kanu did not jump bail following the 2017 military invasion of his ancestral home during Operation Python Dance and awarded N1 billion in damages.

It also cited an October 2022 judgment of the Federal High Court in Umuahia, which it said declared Kanu a victim of unlawful extraordinary rendition, awarded N500 million in damages and ordered the Federal Government to restore him to his pre-rendition status.

In addition, IPOB referenced an October 2023 judgment of a State High Court in Enugu, which it said declared the 2017 proscription of IPOB unconstitutional and awarded N8 billion in compensation.

The group also claimed that Ejimakor secured favourable findings from the African Union Commission on Human and Peoples’ Rights and several United Nations Special Rapporteurs regarding Kanu’s arrest, detention, rendition and the proscription of IPOB.

IPOB further cited a June 2025 decision of the Kenya High Court, which it said declared Kanu’s abduction and rendition unlawful and unconstitutional.

The group maintained that these rulings and international findings demonstrate what it described as a record of legal victories against the Nigerian state.

It added that no other lawyer who had represented Kanu or IPOB had achieved a similar level of success in litigation involving the separatist leader and the organisation.