By Our Reporter
The proscribed Indigenous People of Biafra (IPOB) has announced the suspension of the Office of its Leader, as well as the position of Director of Radio Biafra, following what it described as concerns over communications allegedly emanating from its detained leader, Nnamdi Kanu.
The decision was reached during a full-house meeting of the organisation’s Directorate of State (DOS) on Wednesday, according to a statement signed by the Head of the Directorate of State, Mazi Chika Edoziem.
The leadership said the action followed a review of intelligence reports relating to communications allegedly made by Kanu from detention in Sokoto.
According to the statement, the Directorate of State will henceforth assume responsibility for administering the affairs of the organisation and overseeing its activities.
IPOB maintained that the movement was established by a collective of Biafrans in the diaspora and not by any single individual, stressing that no individual possesses the authority to dissolve the Directorate of State, which it described as the apex leadership structure of the organisation.
The group stated that it was compelled to act due to what it described as unguarded communications that had allegedly contributed to the arrest and death of some of its members in the South-East.
It also expressed concerns that visits to Kanu and activities around him were allegedly under close surveillance by the Department of State Services (DSS).
The statement further alleged that certain individuals were attempting to establish a new militia group capable of triggering renewed violence in the region.
According to the organisation, the suspension was aimed at preventing what it described as reckless actions, unchecked authority and utterances that could endanger the lives of its members.
IPOB added that it would no longer accept responsibility for criminal acts carried out by individuals operating in the name of the suspended office.
The development comes amid reports that Kanu had dissolved the third administration of the Directorate of State and inaugurated a fourth administration.
Under the reported restructuring, Kanu was said to have appointed United States-based Mazi Chris Nwaọgụ as the new Head of the Directorate of State and directed him to oversee the administration and coordination of the organisation’s affairs.
The announcement was reportedly conveyed in a statement issued by IPOB spokesperson, Emma Powerful.
The Directorate of State was established by Kanu in 2012 as the administrative arm of the organisation. It has previously been led by Dr. Justin Akujieze in the United States, Mazi Uchenna Asiegbu in Spain and Chika Edoziem in Switzerland, who assumed leadership of the third administration in March 2017 during Kanu’s earlier detention.
The latest development signals a fresh leadership dispute within the organisation as rival factions lay claim to authority over its operations and direction.
