Aloy Ejimakor, the legal representative for Nnamdi Kanu, leader of the Indigenous People of Biafra (IPOB), has criticized the Director-General of the Department of State Services (DSS), Adeola Oluwatosin Ajayi, for a statement he made regarding self-defence.
Ajayi had recently said that Nigerians should take responsibility for their own security, as the military, police, and intelligence agencies cannot protect every community from terrorist attacks.
He pointed to examples from Bauchi State, where communities had successfully fought off Boko Haram militants without waiting for the military’s help.
Ajayi also referenced former military leader Ibrahim Babangida as someone who supported community-led defence efforts, urging Nigerians to rethink how they approach protecting themselves.
He stated that communities should act as the “first line of defence” against terrorists and criminals.
Ejimakor, in a public response, accused the DSS DG of a double standard, as Kanu has been detained by the DSS for making a similar call for self-defence.
Ejimakor reminded Ajayi that Kanu’s 2017 statement urging self-defence had been twisted to justify his arrest and extraordinary rendition from Kenya in 2021.
The lawyer argued that this comment, among others, was a key reason for the Nigerian government’s 2017 proscription of IPOB as a terrorist group, leading to the persecution of many young Igbo people.
Kanu, a British-Nigerian political activist, has long advocated for the secession of southeastern Nigeria under the proposed state of Biafra.
His views have often put him at odds with the Nigerian government, and his calls for self-determination have been one of the reasons for the government’s decision to label IPOB a terrorist organization in 2017.
Kanu was arrested in 2021 after being detained in Kenya and brought back to Nigeria, where he remains in DSS custody despite multiple court orders for his release.
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