Sowore Condemns Detention Of Igbo Couple By Nigerian Military Since 2021 Without Trial For Allegedly Being IPOB Members

The couple is accused of being members of the Indigenous People of Biafra (IPOB), a group advocating for the restoration of the Republic of Biafra. 

Human rights activist Omoyele Sowore has condemned the prolonged detention of Igbo couple, Mr. and Mrs. Ifedi Sunday, at Wawa Barracks in Niger State since 2021 without trial. 

The couple is accused of being members of the Indigenous People of Biafra (IPOB), a group advocating for the restoration of the Republic of Biafra. 

This incident is part of a larger pattern of enforced disappearances and human rights abuses in Nigeria, particularly in the South-East region.

According to reports, hundreds of South-East residents, including elderly parents, young men, and women, have been abducted by Nigerian security forces, disappearing without a trace. 

The relatives of the victims are left uncertain about their status, whereabouts, or even whether they are still alive.

Sowore, a former presidential candidate of the African Action Congress (AAC), lamented that there are several other Nigerians, especially from the South East, abandoned and rotting away in military barracks over Nigeria’s "insatiable need for National Unity".

Reports have emerged of Nigerian security agencies, particularly the military and Department of State Services (DSS), carrying out enforced disappearances in the South-East region. 

These clandestine operations aim to suppress the agitation for Biafra restoration, which has escalated tensions in the region. 

The situation has deteriorated into a war-like zone, with unknown gunmen targeting security checkpoints and formations, while the Nigerian Army has been accused of burning communities.

The enforced disappearances have raised concerns about human rights violations, with Amnesty International documenting several cases of mass arrests, torture, extortion, and extrajudicial executions by law enforcement officers responding to IPOB activities in the South-East and South-West. 

Families of victims have been left in anguish, waiting for news of their loved ones.

Sowore's post on his X account on Friday highlights the continued human rights violations being carried out on a daily basis in the South-East region of Nigeria.

The rights activist wrote: "This couple, Mr. Ifedi Sunday and Mrs. Ifedi Callista, have been held hostage by lawless @OfficialDSSNG on behalf of Nigeria’s insatiable need for NATIONAL UNITY since 2021 at Wawa Barracks in Niger State. 

"They were accused of being members of #IPOB; there are several other Nigerians, especially from the SE, abandoned in this @HQNigerianArmy Barrack are rotting away."

This couple, Mr. Ifedi Sunday and Mrs. Ifedi Callista, have been held hostage by lawless @OfficialDSSNG on behalf of Nigeria’s insatiable need for NATIONAL UNITY since 2021 at Wawa Bareack in Niger State. They were accused of being members of #IPOB; there are several other… pic.twitter.com/wB2QaAZdFo

— Omoyele Sowore (@YeleSowore) November 15, 2024