Court Adjourns Hearing On Biafra Referendum

A High Court in Abuja has adjourned a hearing on a lawsuit by the Coalition of Northern Groups (CNG) seeking the Organization of a referendum.

CNG had sued the National Assembly, and the Attorney General, asking the court to compel the defendants to halt the ongoing constitutional review exercise and in its place, conduct a referendum to determine what determines Nigeria and who populates it.

The suit was aimed at determining the fate of agitations for Biafra, Yoruba nation, and other secessionist agendas. The case was adjourned till January 20, 2022, after the court before Justice Inyang Ekpo could not sit the same due to official assignment.

Speaking to journalists on Monday after the adjournment, the spokesperson of the CNG, Abdul-Azeez Suleiman, noted that the court could not sit and the suit was subsequently adjourned to 20th January, 2022.

CNG said instead of constitutional review, the defendants should immediately provide a framework for the actualization of agitators’ demand on self-determination.

He said, “What we are doing is to save the country, ourselves, and the future of the country because these peoples are becoming violent already. And most of the people engaged in this activity are below 50. So if we allow our leaders of today to go and leave us with these people in this situation, there may be another bloodshed or civil war. That’s what we want to avoid, which is why we come to the court to interpret the situation.”