Nnamdi Kanu Sues Police for Libel, Claims ₦20bn Damages

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Nnamdi Kanu, leader of the Indigenous People of Biafra, IPOB, has sued the Nigeria Police for libel by deliberately claiming that that six gunmen recently killed by Police operatives in Imo State were members of the group. He is claiming ₦20 billion for damages.

In a writ of summons filed before a Federal Capital Territory (FCT) High Court, through his lawyer, Aloy Ejimakor, Kanu wants the court to declare that the statement by the police linking him to the killed gunmen is defamatory of his person and IPOB.

He asked the court to award him ₦20 billion as damages against the Force Public Relations Officer, Olumuyiwa Adejobi, an Assistant Commissioner of Police, for the defamatory statements credited to him.

Kanu further wants the court to order Adejobi to issue an unreserved letter of apology prominently published full-page in three national dailies: The Sun, Daily Trust and Vanguard.

He argues that a publication in Vanguard of January 25, 2025, titled, “Imo Police Neutralise Six IPOB/ESN Terrorists, Recover Arms” portrayed him as the leader of a violent and terrorist group, and “as an association of violent criminals and terrorists who allegedly engage in terrorist acts in Imo State.”

In an affidavit in support of the suit, Prince Emmanuel Kanu averred that his brother, the IPOB leader, is the director of Radio Biafra and the leader of IPOB, “registered as a non-violent self-determination movement in the United Kingdom and has tens of millions of nonviolent members and followers worldwide, including millions in Nigeria and the Federal Capital Territory, Abuja, who altogether hold the claimant in high esteem.”

Kanu’s brother argues that the statements by Adejobi and the activities credited to the deceased persons killed in a forest in Ihube, Okigwe, Imo State, and the recovery of five AK-47 rifles, 552 rounds of live ammunition, improvised explosive devices (IEDs), several communication equipment, along with eight operational motorcycles, portrayed his brother as “an irresponsible and violent person that has no regards for the sanctity of human lives, and a person who does not deserve justice in his cases pending in court, bordering on: Whether the IPOB is a terrorist group or not; and whether its members are terrorists or otherwise have engaged in terrorist acts.”

Adejobi had said that following credible intelligence, the police operatives located and launched a coordinated operation on terrorists’ hideout in a forest within Ihube in Okigwe Local Government Area of the state on January 24.

“Upon approach, the operatives, who came under heavy fire from suspected IPOB/ESN terrorists, demonstrated exceptional courage and engaged the attackers in a fierce gun battle.

“The operation resulted in the neutralisation of six members of the terrorist group, with three being ESN kingpins identified as Ifeanyi Anayo a.k.a. Zuma De Rock, 28; Chukwuemeka Odionyenfe a.k.a. Nmimi, 22; and Kingsley Sunday, 21; all natives of Ogube, Ihube, in Okigwe Local Government Area”
Adejobi further confirmed that five AK-47 rifles, 552 rounds of live ammunition, improvised explosive devices (IEDs), several communication equipment, along with eight operational motorcycles used by the group, were recovered from the scene.

He revealed that prior investigations had revealed the alleged involvement of the group in several high-profile crimes, including the attack on the Owerri Correctional Centre on April 5, 2021.

He alleged that the killed gunmen were involved in the killing of five policemen in Umunna, Okigwe, on December 12, 2022, and the burning of Arondizuogu Police Station on February 8, 2022.

“The group was also involved in multiple kidnappings, including those of WAEC staff on June 5, 2023; four reverend sisters on August 21, 2022; and four Chinese nationals on December 6, 2023,” he further alleged.

Be that as it may, Kanu has gone to court to prove that the gunmen were not members of IPOB, that his organisation is not a terrorist outfit and that the Police are profiling him in order to make him ineligible for bail.