By Nwabueze Okonkwo
ONITSHA — Human rights lawyer, Sir Ifeanyi Ejiofor, KSC, has said that the 2017 proscription of the Indigenous People of Biafra (IPOB), a movement he described as peaceful at the time, marked the beginning of an unending cycle of mistrust, violence, and alienation in Nigeria.
In a press statement issued on Sunday, Ejiofor, who also serves as lead counsel to IPOB, observed that instead of addressing underlying grievances, the situation was met with suppression that heightened tensions where dialogue was needed.
He argued that the clampdown created a vacuum that later gave rise to elements whose actions departed from the original ideals of the movement.
“These actors neither share the ideals nor the moral compass of the earlier movement. They emerged from the absence of structured engagement,” Ejiofor stated.
“The truth remains that no nation ever silenced a cry for justice through the barrel of a gun. Sustainable peace is achieved only through honest dialogue, empathy, and a deliberate effort to separate legitimate grievances from acts of opportunism.”
Citing Bishop Hassan Kukah’s recent remarks at the launch of General Lucky Irabor’s book in Abuja, Ejiofor noted that names and labels often shape perception and dictate responses, warning that mishandling them could worsen divisions.
“Nigeria’s future peace lies not in the proliferation of labels but in our collective ability to listen beyond them, to understand the pains and aspirations behind those names, and to build a nation that heals rather than hurts,” he said.
He urged the Federal Government to consider dialogue and re-engagement, stressing:
“The government must summon the courage to sift the wheat from the chaff, to distinguish genuine aspirations from criminality, and to restore trust where disillusionment now reigns. A nation that refuses to talk to its children will one day be compelled to negotiate with their ghosts.”
Ejiofor recalled that between 2015 and 2017, thousands of young men and women from the South-East staged peaceful marches to highlight perceived marginalisation. He said the state’s response during that period left deep scars on the region’s collective psyche.
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