Canadian Court Denies Asylum to Member of Banned Nigerian Separatist Group IPOB. 

The Federal Court in Canada has denied the asylum application of local coordinator of the Indigenous People of Biafra (IPOB), Davies Chijioke Chukwudi, due to his links with the separatist group’s militarised wing, Eastern Security Network (ESN).READ MORE

 

 

The court cited the group’s violent attack on former deputy senate president Ike Ekweremadu in 2019 in Germany and its agenda to remove the Nigerian government by force to support its decision. The court found that the separatist group was not as peaceful as Chukwudi claimed.

 

According to Peoples Gazette, the IPOB leader Nnamdi Kanu has, on several occasions, encouraged members to engage in violent actions against the Nigerian government to further the group’s secession objectives. Chukwudi argued that the IPOB’s use of force was a survival response, but the court dismissed this claim stating that acts of subversion by force cannot be justified.

 

Chukwudi also claimed that reports from the Nigerian press could not be trusted and were inadmissible, citing a lack of journalistic integrity in the African nation. However, the court cited an article by Germany-based publication, DW News, which reported on the fights between the Nigerian military and ESN, stating that not all evidence from Nigerian sources is unreliable. After considering all of Chukwudi’s arguments, the court dismissed the matter and found that the decision to deny the asylum application was reasonable and transparent.

 

Chukwudi was represented by Marie Pierre and Blais Ménard, while Lisa Maziade appeared for the minister in the case listed as IMM-3479-22.READ MORE

 

Credit: withinnigeria.com