Justice Inyang Edem Ekwo of the Federal High Court in Abuja recently dismissed a suit filed by a Coalition of Northern Groups, including Nastura Shariff, Balarabe Rufa’i, Abdul-Aziz Sulaiman, and Aminu Adam. The lawsuit aimed to mandate the exit of the Igbo population from Nigeria’s South East.
The judge ruled against the case, citing the absence of the plaintiffs and their lack of legal representation, emphasizing that the Northern groups hadn’t attended court proceedings since 2022.
The plaintiffs’ plea to compel the Senate President and Speaker of the House of Representatives to hasten the secession of the southeastern region was also declined. The case was ultimately dismissed for lack of diligent prosecution.
The Northern group contended that allowing the Igbo to exit Nigeria would forestall violence and destruction in the South-East, averting a potential recurrence of the 1967-1970 Civil War. Their plea for a declaration of a referendum on self-determination for the south-eastern region and a court-ordered legislative effort toward this goal was not granted.
