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The Directorate of State (DOS) of the Indigenous People of Biafra (IPOB) has announced the indefinite suspension of the Office of the Leader of IPOB and the Director of Radio Biafra position, both previously held by Nnamdi Kanu.
The group said the decision, which takes immediate effect, was part of efforts to reposition the organisation and strengthen its operations.
In a statement issued on Thursday by Chikadibia Edoziem, head of IPOB’s Directorate of State, the group said the move followed a review of intelligence reports concerning developments around Kanu and the activities of individuals acting under the authority of the suspended offices.
IPOB said the decision was reached during a DOS meeting on June 17 after members reviewed a report from its “M-Branch” regarding a meeting involving Kanu and officials of the Department of State Services (DSS) and the Nigerian Intelligence Agency (NIA) at Sokoto prison.
The group alleged that Kanu’s communications and movements had been monitored by security agencies and claimed some interactions from detention had resulted in arrests and deaths of IPOB members.
IPOB stated that suspending the offices was to prevent individuals from using the positions to justify actions that contradict the group’s mission or engage in activities without authorisation from the Directorate of State.
IPOB also alleged attempts to create a new militia group and weaken its leadership structure, warning that it would not take responsibility for actions carried out by individuals no longer authorised to act on its behalf.
The group maintained that IPOB was founded as a self-determination movement by Biafrans in the diaspora and was not controlled by any single individual.
“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 reads.
“IPOB shall hence forward not be held accountable for actions of individuals or group of Individuals not holding any active position within IPOB or for actions of persons not authorized by the Directorate of State to act on behalf of the Indigenous People of Biafra Self-Determination movement.”
Kanu, who founded IPOB, has been in detention over terrorism-related charges.
In November 2025, Justice James Omotosho of the High Court in Abuja sentenced him to life imprisonment after convicting him on four counts of a seven-count terrorism charge.
He was also handed additional prison terms of 20 years and five years on two other counts.
During the trial, a DSS officer told the court that Kanu admitted during interrogation to making statements that encouraged attacks on police officers, while another officer linked violence that followed the #EndSARS protests to alleged comments by the IPOB leader.
Kanu has appealed the conviction.
