The Indigenous People of Biafra (IPOB), a proscribed separatist movement, has announced the indefinite suspension of its detained leader, Nnamdi Kanu, citing what it described as “unguarded utterances” and concerns over internal security and operational control.
The group also said Kanu has been removed as Director of Radio Biafra as part of a sweeping internal restructuring aimed at repositioning its leadership architecture.
In a statement issued on Thursday by Chikadibia Edoziem, Head of the Directorate of State (DOS), the organisation’s highest decision-making body,
IPOB insisted that it was not founded as a one-man movement but as a collective self-determination platform established by Biafrans in the diaspora.
According to the DOS, the decision to suspend Kanu was reached at a meeting held on June 17, following what it called an intelligence report from its “M-Branch” alleging that Kanu held meetings with operatives of the Department of State Services (DSS) and the Nigerian Intelligence Agency (NIA) at Sokoto prison.
The group claimed that Kanu’s movements and communications were being closely monitored by security agencies, alleging further that some of his prison-related communications had previously led to the arrest and death of some of its members.
It further alleged that there were ongoing plans by unnamed actors to form a new militia group to instigate violence in parts of the South-East and weaken the organisation’s structure through targeted actions against its leadership.
IPOB said the suspension was necessary to prevent “reckless assumption of authority” and to avoid actions capable of triggering arrests, torture or deaths of youths in the region.
The group added that the decision was also aimed at stopping individuals from using Kanu’s position to justify actions it described as criminal or unauthorised in furtherance of the movement’s objectives.
It stressed that henceforth, IPOB would not take responsibility for actions carried out by persons or groups not officially authorised by its Directorate of State.
“Any such crime or criminal activity taken in the name of the suspended office of the leader shall not be attributed to IPOB but solely to the person or persons who may have instigated them,” the statement read.
The development marks a dramatic twist in the internal dynamics of the group, which has long been at the centre of agitation for a separate Biafran state and has been outlawed by the Nigerian government.
Kanu has remained in detention following his conviction on terrorism-related charges.
In November 2025, a Federal High Court in Abuja sentenced him to life imprisonment on multiple counts, including charges relating to alleged incitement and terrorism-related offences. He has since appealed the judgment.
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