Kingsley Kanu, the younger brother of the leader of the outlawed Indigenous People of Biafra (IPOB), Nnamdi Kanu, has dismissed his alleged suspension by the leadership of the group.
Mr Kingsley said on Monday that he remains a bona fide member of the organisation.
Collins Chinedu, said to be the national coordinator of IPOB for Germany, signed the suspension order.
A statement on Sunday night announcing Mr Kingsley’s suspension accused him of insubordination to IPOB leadership, forming a parallel leadership in Germany and flouting the group’s code of conduct.
Mr Kingsley was accused of “imposing and parading an expelled IPOB member, Mr Ogbenna Abraham as the new National Coordinator for Germany with the sole intent to cause division within the existing structure in Germany”.
Kingsley reacts
Mr Kingsley in a reaction through his social media handles said Mr Chinedu who signed the suspension order lacks the power to sack him as he (Chinedu) had since been removed as the national coordinator of the group for Germany by the IPOB leader, Mr Kanu.
“I am born for a day like this, Kanunta Kanu is very much around,” he said.
Posting a screenshot of a tweet by Mr Kanu’s lawyers, Alloy Ejimakor, Mr Kingsley, popularly known as Kanunta, said his brother, Mr Kanu had issued a directive to the leadership of IPOB last year from detention through his lawyers to remove Mr Chinedu and replace him with Ogbenna Abraham
“This is to inform the general public that Mr Collins Chinedu was officially expelled from IPOB family Germany by Mazi Nnamdi Kanu on 28:11:2022 through Aloy Ejimakor. And his successor is Mazi Ogbonna Abraham,” he said.
Checks on Mr Ejimakor’s Twitter page shows that the lawyer, after a visit to Mr Kanu in November last year, actually announced the IPOB leader’s directive to IPOB Director of State Affairs, Chika Edoziem to appoint Mr Abraham as the new interim coordinator for Germany.
“Today, I had a visitation with Onyendu and he asked me to make it public that he had asked one of his lawyers to do a memo to Mazi Chika Edoziem to announce Ogbonna Abraham as the new Interim Coordinator for Germany; and that Edoziem and the lawyer who did the Memo can confirm this,” Mr Ejimakor wrote on Twitter.
Mr Kingsley, in another statement, accused the Directorate of State Affairs (DOS) of flouting Mr Kanu’s orders, which is why he (Kingsley) was having issues with them.
He wrote: “If you want to see the best of Kanunta Kanu, obey Mazi Nnamdi Kanu’s orders without any hesitation. That is my problem with the cabals @real_IpobDOS. That is the fact,” he wrote.
Abraham corroborates Kingsley’s claim
Mr Abraham, the factional coordinator for Germany, has also reacted to the suspension.
Mr Abraham, in a statement he issued on Monday, reiterated that Mr Chinedu had been expelled from IPOB by Mr Kanu.
He said: “This is to formally notify all members of IPOB family and the general public that Mr. Collins Chinedu was expelled from IPOB by Mazi Nnamdi Kanu.
“This was made public and official by Mazi Nnamdi Kanu on the 28th day of November 2022 through Barr. Alloy Ejimakor.
Please, disregard any information coming from him as he is no longer the national coordinator of Germany and neither is he a member of the IPOB family at large so he no longer possess the power or authority to suspend anyone or take any decision on behalf of the family,” he added
Mr Abraham further stated that Mr Kanu still remains the highest authority in IPOB and warned against defying his orders.
“Need I remind us that Mazi Nnamdi Kanu is and remains the highest authority as far as the present IPOB is concerned?
“Every member of IPOB is expected to respect and work under his authority because he has sacrificed a lot for this cause.
“We wouldn’t be here if he had not stood his ground. His intentions are pure and so is his decisions. So, let all of us keep this in mind before we decide to defy his instructions,” he added.
IPOB is leading the agitation for an independent state of Biafra, which it wants carved out from the South-east and some parts of the South-south Nigeria.
Its leader, Mr Kanu, is standing trial in Abuja for alleged terrorism.
Since Mr Kanu’s arrest and detention, IPOB has struggling to stay united but is seems it is gradually disintegrating from within as some of its leaders battle to outwit one another.
Mr Kanu’s follower, Simon Ekpa, allegedly broke away last year and formed a parallel group, known as auto pilots which has been accused of carrying out most of the deadly attacks in South-east Nigeria.
