The Indigenous People of Biafra (IPOB) and Nigeria are two entities at loggerheads on the issue of the nationhood of the people of the old Eastern Region. IPOB is a separatist movement founded in 2012 by British Nigerian Nnamdi Kanu to spearhead the separation of eastern Nigeria from the rest of the country, as actualised from 1967 to 1970.
The movement is an offshoot of an older Pro-Biafra movement known as the Movement for the Actualisation of the Sovereign State of Biafra (MASSOB), of which Nnamdi Kanu was a key member. MASSOB went defunct, and Nnamdi Kanu left to find his own movement.
At the core of IPOB’s approach to activism is nonviolence and non-confrontation, focusing on the message of a referendum for the people of the Old Eastern region to decide their fate on a continued stay in Nigeria or an exit to a new Biafran State.
The major means of communication employed by IPOB is radio broadcasting through its internet radio network, Radio Biafra. The radio broadcasts worldwide and was quite popular in Nigeria in its early days. Nnamdi Kanu, in his early days, was the main voice on the radio broadcasting to a growing audience, leveraging historic feelings of marginalisation in the eastern region and the hope of total freedom in a new Biafran Country.
On the ground, IPOB was much more than a radio station. members of the organisation held cell meetings, monthly fundraising, and elected state coordinators. The group also utilised soft protests and an election boycott the pressure the Nigerian state and make demands.
Since its founding in 2012, IPOB has recorded massive growth due to the potency of its message, which leveraged a major pain point in its target audience. It wasn’t long before the Nigerian state marked the group as a threat to the nation’s unity and started cracking down on members
Proscription and Operation Python Dance
On May 29, 2015, a new president was sworn into power in Nigeria after a tightly contested election. The new president, Muhammadu Buhari, was a Military General who had a brief stint in the military era back in 1984. The coming to power of Buhari changed the game for IPOB, which, before then, was operating as a legitimate pressure group in Nigeria.
President Buhari, an active participant in the Nigerian Civil War, had zero tolerance for the movement, coupled with a slight disdain for democratic principles.
In September 2017, the Muhammadu Buhari adminstration proscribed IPOB as a terrorist organization via an ex parte order from the Federal High Court in Abuja. The order was enforced under section 2(1) of the terrorism (Prevention) Order 2013.
The Buhari regime accused IPOB of violent clashes in Abia state and other violent events in other parts of the country. The proscription of IPOB was met with criticisms by concerned Nigerians who felt the movement had done nothing to be slapped with the terrorist tag. The terrorist tag on IPOB laid the groundwork for a violent crackdown on the group by armed security groups. The proscription of the group ended its perception as a legitimate pressure group and opened the doors for extrajudicial measures.
One of such extrajudicial measures came in the guise of a coordinated military campaign termed “ Operation Python Dance” or ‘ Egwu Eke in the Igbo language. The official narrative said it was a military exercise that included multi-agency drills, Medical outreach, and infrastructure repairs.
In reality, it was a brutal crackdown on IPOB and MASSOB members by the military, leading to deaths and missing persons. The Operation Python dance was a Rubicon moment, which opened the doors to more brutal crackdowns and deaths.
In the Coming years, IPOB took a more violent turn, establishing the Eastern Security Network (ESN), an armed group created to secure eastern forests from armed marauding herdsmen terrorising farmers and violating women. The creation of ESN turned the tide on IPOB, as it lost its image as an unarmed group and became vulnerable to all manner of schemes by both state and non-state actors. The chasm between IPOB and Nigeria widened in the following years.
IPOB Today
Following the arrest and detention of the IPOB leader, Nnamdi Kanu, in 2021. The movement has gone underground, taking most of its activities online, avoiding open confrontation and protests. The movement is run by anonymous but authoritative figures, mostly from its media arm.
It often releases press releases through its publicity secretary, “ Emma Powerful, “ an alias name, and Chinasa Nworu, founder of Family Writers Press. Radio Biafra is still live and recently resumed broadcasting in Akwa Ibom.
The main event for the movement has been the trial of its leader, Nnamdi Kanu. His legal counsel, headed by Barrister Aloy Ejimakor, enjoys the support of the movement online, while sympathizing Nigerians also support the release of the IPOB leader.
In early November 2025, the US President Donald Trump drew global attention to an alleged Christian genocide in Nigeria, threatening to invade the country to rescue the Christians.
Notable media organisations like the BBC and the Cable linked the Christian genocide narrative to IPOB, claiming the narrative was birthed by an Online campaign by the movement.
The BBC traced the Christian Genocide narrative by Trump to a report by the Anambra-based NGO Intersociety, questioning the authenticity. Intersociety replied with a detailed report on how it got its figures, stating that it compiled its list from 2009.
IPOB in 2025 faces a narrative battle spearheaded by the Nigerian state, which continues to label it a terrorist organisation despite the absence of strong proof. IPOB leader Nnamdi Kanu is slated for judgment on November 20 in what promises to be a dramatic end to a 5-year legal process.
