Freedom For 12 Biafra Agitators After 4 Years Incarceration

• ‘Justice may be delayed, but it shall not be denied’ – IPOB Counsel

Twelve members of the proscribed Indigenous People of Biafra (IPOB) were on Thursday released from prison custody following a ruling by the Ebonyi State High Court.

Their freedom marks a significant legal victory after spending almost four years behind bars. They have been in detention since May 24, 2021.

IPOB’s legal counsel, Barrister Ifeanyi Ejiofor, disclosed the cheering news in a statement posted on his Facebook page on Thursday.

He said as part of a larger group of 36 arrested in 2021, the detainees were all discharged and acquitted in previous court rulings but remained in detention due to delays in enforcing the judgments.

The IPOB Counsel further explained that their release came after the Ebonyi State Director of Public Prosecution (DPP) formally withdrew the most recent charges brought against them, in recognition of earlier judicial pronouncements.

According to Barrister Ejiofor; “This victory follows a formal application by the Ebonyi State Director of Public Prosecution (DPP), who, in acknowledgement of repeated judicial pronouncements, withdrew the latest charge filed against these 12 individuals”.

Ejiofor, who described the development as “a long-overdue respect for the rule of law,” personally supervised the release process and confirmed that prison authorities complied promptly with the court’s directive to hand over the detainees to him.

He said; “Our legal team remains relentless and fully committed to securing the freedom of the remaining detainees—men who have also been discharged and acquitted by no fewer than four different High Courts in Ebonyi State”.

Ejiofor said with 12 detainees now free, the fate of the remaining individuals still hangs in the balance, even as he expressed optimism that “Their release is no longer a matter of if but when, and that moment draws closer by the day.”

Sounding quite hopeful, the IPOB Counsel affirmed thus; “Justice may be delayed, but it shall not be denied. Freedom must prevail.”