Human rights lawyer and lead counsel to the Indigenous People of Biafra, IPOB, Sir Ifeanyi Ejiofor, has urged residents of the South-East to reject any directive to boycott the 2027 general elections, warning that such a move could plunge the region into another “tragedy.”
Ejiofor’s warning followed a 14-day ultimatum issued by IPOB to the Federal Government over the delayed hearing of the appeal filed by its detained leader, Mazi Nnamdi Kanu.
IPOB, through its spokesman, Emma Powerful, had threatened to mobilise for a boycott of the 2027 elections across the South-East and other parts of “Biafraland” if Kanu’s appeal was not immediately listed and heard.
The group said the ultimatum was prompted by renewed concerns from Kanu’s family over the delay in hearing the appeal against his conviction and life sentence.
However, in a statement issued on Thursday and titled, “Ala-Igbo at a crossroads: Jettisoning electoral boycott before it becomes another tragedy,” Ejiofor condemned any move to discourage electoral participation in the region.
He said the issue was beyond politics, stressing that the priority should be the protection of the lives, livelihoods and peace of the people.
“Any directive advocating an electoral boycott, under whatever guise or euphemism it may be presented, must be unequivocally rejected. We must not permit the reopening of wounds that have taken enormous sacrifices to heal,” he said.
The lawyer argued that the South-East could not continue to pursue political objectives through strategies whose consequences were largely suffered by the people they purportedly sought to defend.
He said electoral participation should not be portrayed as an offence against the collective interests of the people, warning that staying away from the ballot box could further weaken the region’s political influence.
“Indeed, what greater irony could there be than to surrender our political voice in the name of defending our people, only to discover that the silence created by such surrender has become the very instrument through which our collective interests are diminished?” Ejiofor asked.
He urged residents to pursue their grievances through legitimate constitutional, judicial, political and democratic channels.
Ejiofor said he condemned “in its entirety” any directive aimed at inducing an electoral boycott in Ala-Igbo, particularly when such directives were issued without accountability to the people who would bear the consequences.
“Those who are gathering the storm should understand that Ala-Igbo is no longer available for experimentation with destructive political theories. Our people have endured enough. Our communities have suffered enough. Our economy has paid enough,” he said.
He maintained that the region’s future should not be subjected to the political calculations of individuals removed from the consequences of their decisions.
“A people do not preserve their homeland by rendering it ungovernable; they preserve it by protecting its peace, strengthening its institutions and relentlessly pursuing justice through every legitimate avenue available to them,” he added.
Ejiofor further called on the people to reject any attempt to make electoral boycott a test of loyalty or patriotism.
“Patriotism cannot mean deliberately weakening one’s own people. Resistance cannot mean destroying one’s own economic foundation. And political fidelity cannot require sacrificing the lives and livelihoods of an entire generation,” he said.
He urged those claiming to speak for the Igbo people to listen to their concerns and protect the region from further instability.
“Ala-Igbo must not be sacrificed on the altar of political absolutism,” Ejiofor said.
Titilope Adako is a talented and intrepid journalist, dedicated to shedding light on the untold stories of Osun State and Nigeria. Through incisive reporting, she tackles a broad spectrum of topics, from politics and social justice to culture and entertainment, with a commitment to accuracy, empathy, and inspiring positive change.
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