Nnamdi Kanu, leader of the Indigenous People of Biafra (IPOB), has dragged the Imo State Commissioner of Police, Aboki Danjuma, to court in a fresh N10 billion lawsuit.
The suit, filed at the Abuja High Court through his lawyer, Maxwell Opara, accuses the police chief of defamation. Kanu is also seeking an additional ₦50 million as exemplary damages, alongside a 10 percent annual post-judgment interest until full payment is made.
At the heart of the case is a press statement issued by Danjuma on July 25, where he linked gruesome killings in parts of Imo State to members of IPOB and its armed wing, the Eastern Security Network (ESN). Kanu insists the claim is false, speculative, and malicious.
In his writ of summons marked CV3179/2025, the IPOB leader is asking the court to stop Danjuma and the police from making such statements in the future. He also wants a public retraction and apology published in at least two national newspapers and broadcast on national television.
According to Kanu’s legal team, the press release came at a sensitive time when IPOB was already challenging the earlier court ruling that branded it a terrorist group. Opara argued that the CP’s comments, made while Kanu’s terrorism trial is still pending, were prejudicial and amounted to an attempt to influence public perception before the court’s decision.
The lawyer further noted that no arrests or prosecutions were carried out following the police statement, describing it as baseless and lacking proper investigation. He maintained that the allegation has damaged Kanu’s reputation both within Nigeria and abroad.
“The statements were defamatory, false, and driven by malice,” Opara stressed, adding that they were intended to turn public opinion against his client and IPOB.
