IPOB has indefinitely suspended its leader Nnamdi Kanu and removed him as director of Radio Biafra over alleged unguarded utterances and security concerns, according to a statement from the group’s Directorate of State

The Indigenous People of Biafra has announced the indefinite suspension of its leader, Nnamdi Kanu, and his delisting as director of Radio Biafra.

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The decision was communicated on Thursday by Chikadibia Edoziem, head of the Directorate of State, IPOB’s highest decision-making body.

In a statement released on June 19, 2026, Edoziem explained that the suspension followed a Directorate of State meeting held on June 17.

The move was based on intelligence reports from IPOB’s M-Branch concerning a reported meeting between Kanu and officers of the Department of State Services and the Nigerian Intelligence Agency while he was held in Sokoto prison.

The group emphasised that IPOB was established as a collective self-determination movement by Biafrans in the diaspora and not by any single individual. It stressed that no one has the power to dissolve its central leadership structure.

Chikadibia Edoziem said the suspension aims to prevent reckless actions, unguarded utterances, and unauthorised criminal activities being carried out in the name of the suspended office of the leader.

Such actions, the statement noted, have previously led to arrests, torture, and deaths of Biafran youths.

“Any such crime or criminal activity taken in the name of the suspended office of the leader shall not be attributed to IPOB but solely to the person or persons who may have instigated them,” the statement read.

The development comes at a sensitive time for the pro-Biafra movement.

In November 2025, Nnamdi Kanu was sentenced to life imprisonment by a Federal High Court in Abuja on terrorism-related charges. He is currently appealing the conviction.

Also read: Peter Obi pledges to release Nnamdi Kanu, engage bandits

This internal restructuring reflects ongoing tensions within the organisation as it seeks to reposition itself and protect its structures amid intense government scrutiny.