Indigenous People of Biafra | |
|---|---|
| Abbreviation | IPOB |
| Leader | Nnamdi Kanu |
| Founders |
|
| Founded | 2012 |
| Ideology | |
| Colours | Red, black, green and yellow |
| Party flag | |
 | |
| Website | |
| ipobinusa | |
The Indigenous People of Biafra (IPOB) is a separatist group in Nigeria that aims to restore the defunct Republic of Biafra, a country which seceded from Nigeria in 1967 prior to the Nigerian Civil War and was subsequently dissolved following its defeat in 1970.[4] Since 2021, IPOB and other Biafran separatist groups have been fighting a low-level guerilla conflict in southeastern Nigeria against the Nigerian government. The group was founded in 2012[5] by Nnamdi Kanu who has been the leader[6] and Uche Mefor, who served as the deputy leader.[7]
Kanu is known as a British political activist known for his advocacy of the contemporary Biafran independence movement.[8] It was declared a terrorist organization by the Nigerian government in 2017 under the Nigerian Terrorism Act but the declaration was nullified by a High Court sitting in Enugu in 2023.[9] As of May 2022, the United Kingdom started denying asylum to members of IPOB who allegedly engaged in human rights abuses, though the U.K. government clarified that IPOB had not been designated as a terrorist organisation.[10]
IPOB has criticized the Nigerian federal government for poor investment, political alienation, inequitable resource distribution, ethnic marginalization, and heavy military presence, extrajudicial killings in the South-Eastern, South-Central and parts of North-Central regions of the country.[11][12] The organization rose to prominence in the mid-2010s and is now the largest Biafran independence organization by membership. In recent years, it has gained significant media attention for becoming a frequent target of political crackdowns by the Nigerian government. It also has numerous sites and communication channels serving as the only trusted social apparatus educating and inculcating first hand information and news to its members.[13]
- ^ a b Mayer, Adam (4 July 2021). "Violence and identity in modern Nigeria: Inchoate feudalization in a failing polity". Journal of Central and Eastern European African Studies. 1 (1–2).
- ^ Ejiofor, Promise Frank (28 February 2023). "Decolonising Islamophobia". Ethnic and Racial Studies. 46 (13): 2863–2892. doi:10.1080/01419870.2023.2181670. ISSN 0141-9870.
- ^ Mahler, Gregory S. (2024). Frustrated Nationalism: Nationalism and National Identity in the Twenty-First Century. State University of New York Press. ISBN 9781438496184.
- ^ Allison, Simon (6 October 2017). "Mystery of the missing Biafran separatist". The M&G Online. Retrieved 2019-05-13.
- ^ Leavitt, Jericho (2023-11-08). "Indigenous People of Biafra (IPOB)". The Modern Insurgent. Retrieved 2024-06-17.
- ^ Nwonwu, Chiagozie (2023-01-09). "Biafra quest fuels Nigeria conflict: Too scared to marry and bury bodies". Retrieved 2023-01-31.
- ^ Nehru Odeh,"IPOB: Why Nnamdi Kanu, Uche Mefor are at war". pmnewsnigeria.com. 24 November 2020. Retrieved 7 June 2024.
- ^ "The man behind Nigeria's new separatist movement". BBC News. 2017-05-05. Retrieved 2019-05-13.
- ^ "Proscription, designation of IPOB as terror organisation, unconstitutional – Court". Vanguard News.
- ^ "We Didn't Designate IPOB As Terrorist Organisation – UK | Channels Television". www.channelstv.com.
- ^ Mahr, Oluwatosin Adeshokan, Krista (30 April 2019). "The dream of Biafra lives on in underground Nigerian radio broadcasts". Los Angeles Times. Retrieved 2019-05-13.
{{cite web}}: CS1 maint: multiple names: authors list (link) - ^ EST, Conor Gaffey On 12/7/15 at 7:22 AM (2015-12-07). "What is Biafra and Why are Some Nigerians Calling for Independence?". Newsweek. Retrieved 2019-05-13.
{{cite web}}: CS1 maint: numeric names: authors list (link) - ^ "Nigeria: At least 150 peaceful pro-Biafra activists killed in chilling crackdown". Amnesty International. 24 November 2016. Retrieved 5 June 2020.