Court orders detention of 60 IPOB members

A Chief Magistrates’ Court sitting in Umuahia, the Abia State capital, has ordered the detention of 60 members of the Indigenous People of Biafra (IPOB) at the Afara Federal Prisons on Aba Road.

The Nation gathered that the magistrate gave the order when their lawyer challenged the jurisdiction of the court to hear the matter, following the reading of the charges against them.

The magistrate, who directed that the case file be transferred to the Department for Public Prosecution (DPP) for advice, adjourned the matter till October 25 for compliance and possible transfer to a High Court.

By law, a high court has the jurisdiction to entertain the charges against the suspects.
The IPOB members were among those arrested by security agents in Umuahia, Isiala Ngwa and other parts of the state capital during the clash between the Army and members of the separatist group.

Police spokesman Geoffrey Ogbonna, a Deputy Superintendent of Police (DSP), said the IPOB members were arraigned on eight-count charges of conspiracy, terrorism, attempted murder, unlawful society and rioting.

A chief magistrates’ court sitting in Aba North Local Government Area, presided over by Ogbonna Adiele, had ordered the remand of seven suspected IPOB members at the Aba Prison for a similar crime.

The trial judge ordered that the case file be transferred to the DPP for advice.

The matter will come up on September 27 for compliance to the court’s directives.