The Biafra Republic Government-In-Exile has formally requested the removal of Abiola Idowu-Ojo, Nigeria’s representative at the African Commission on Human and Peoples’ Rights.
In a protest letter to the Commission on Tueaday, BRGIE’s lawyer, Jonathan Levy, alleged that Idowu-Ojo dismissed the group’s petition for self-rule without proper consideration, according to Daily Post.
Levy cited Idowu-Ojo’s Nigerian citizenship and education as grounds for her alleged bias against Biafra’s liberation efforts.
He argued that her background renders her incapable of impartially addressing the plight of the Biafran people.
The BRGIE has been seeking self-determination, citing marginalization and human rights violations against the Igbo people in Nigeria’s southeastern regions.
The BRGIE’s petition seeks to bring attention to alleged human rights violations and advocate for Biafran self-determination.
“Before the Commission could meet and consider the BRGIE communication, the Executive Secretary of the Commission, a Nigerian citizen and lawyer educated in Nigeria, summarily dismissed the communication on the grounds it did not state a case or contain any facts.
“The procedural rules of the ACHPR that mandate the Executive Secretary explain her position and allow Biafra to amend the communication were ignored. Two further requests for instructions from Biafra to the ACHPR Secretariat went unanswered.
“BRGIE has requested the ACHPR Commissioner to recuse the Executive Secretary on grounds that a Nigerian citizen and product of the biased Nigerian educational system, including its elite universities, cannot comprehend the plight of Biafra or its people as they have been instructed by the earliest age, that Biafra is never to be mentioned or acknowledged.
“The BRGIE implores that the African Union does not follow the disastrous anti-Biafra position of its predecessor the OAU which misused its position to oppose Biafran independence.
“The genocide of 1967-1970 must never be repeated. The BRGIE has attempted to place the matter of human rights and the BiaSelf-Referendumndum before the African Union.
“If the African Union refuses to take up the challenge, that organization must be relegated to the garbage pail of history as a relic of neo-colonialism.
“Biafra stands firm and steadfast and as sure as its rising sun emblem, Biafra will be the beacon for a new Africa free of neocolonialism where every man, woman, and child can live their lives without fear,” Levy stated.
