THE INDIGENOUS PEOPLE OF BIAFRA (IPOB) SIT-AT-HOME ORDER AND HUMAN RIGHTS VIOLATIONS IN THE SOUTHEAST NIGERIA (2021-2023)

Abstract

The study appraised the prevalent incidences of the sit-at-home order of the Indigenous People of Biafra (IPOB) in Southeast Nigeria. Essentially, the study established how the enforcement of the unlawful order contributed to the gross violations of rights of residents in the region between 2021 and 2023. The study which is both qualitative and descriptive, gathered data from various documentary evidence, and adopted Systems theory as expounded by Talcott Parsons and David Easton as its framework of analysis. Findings from the data presentation and analysis showed that the IPOB sit-at-home order forms part of the strategies in the bid to actualize the sovereign state Biafra. The study also revealed that the weekly enforcement of the unlawful order grossly violated the social, economic and political rights of residents in Southeast Nigeria. Against this backdrop, the study recommends the need for political restructuring and power rotation formula or mechanism in a way that guarantees equal or fair rotation of presidential power among the six geopolitical zones in Nigeria; and also the need for the Nigerian government to foster national cohesion and engage in diplomatic dialogue with the leaders of the Indigenous People of Biafra, as well the leaders of the five states in the Southeast of Nigeria. In addition, the federal government of Nigeria should obey court orders pertaining to freeing Mazi Nnamdi Kanu, the leader and founder of the IPOB.