OWERRI—A Federal High Court sitting in Owerri has been urged to decide whether the indigenous people of Biafra, who survived the Nigeria-Biafra war of 1967-1970, have the right to self-determination.

Bilie Human Rights Initiative, representing Indigenous People of Biafra, made the plea in a suit, FHC/OW/CS/102/2012, which the group filed against the Federal Government and Attorney General of the Federation.

The group also urged the court to decide whether by the 1963 Constitution, which took effect on October 1, 1963, and remained in force until the midnight of September 30, 1979, the defendants were right to seize and confiscate the assets, properties, money and all treasures belonging to the claimants by promulgating the Abandoned Properties Act of September 28, 1979.

The claimants prayed the court to determine “whether the defendants were justified to violate the International Humanitarian Law and Laws of War, known as the Geneva Convention of 1949, to which the defendants acceded and ratified June 20, 1961, by bombing the Biafran civilians, killing the Biafran civilians and using starvation to kill the children, women and the elderly of the civilian population of the indigenous people of Biafra in the war of 1967-1970, in order to win the war.”

The suit is supported by a 44-paragraph affidavit sworn to by Innocent Obinna Amadi, an engineer, while hearing is expected to begin January 16, 2013.


http://www.vanguardngr.com/2013/01/biafra-group-sues-fg-over-abandoned-property-others/

Good move; at some point you have to move beyond just 'talk'.

Dream Dead On Arrival!

This should have been left in the Dust bin of History , Igbos miss it when it matters most . Just when it does not matter they are digging up Abandoned property issues (possibly Abandoned property in Niger Delta matters to them more than Demolished property in Abuja )

kettykin: This should have been left in the Dust bin of History , Igbos miss it when it matters most . Just when it does not matter they are digging up Abandoned property issues (possibly Abandoned property in Niger Delta matters to them more than Demolished property in Abuja )

^^^Left in the dustbin of history!?.....the thing about 'history' is that if we don't learn from it, it's bound to repeat itself at some point in the future; or maybe you don't want them to test the strength of their case in court so we don't 'offend' certain delicate sensibilities and feelings?

The issue doesn't matter to you, but obviously the brethren involved in this feel strongly enough about it to take it to court, and i say good on them.

It's precisely b'cos of some of our parents 'let the issue go in the dustbin of history' attitude after the civil war (though you can understand their reticence at the time on these kind of issues given that they had just come out of a civil war, lost loved ones, lost almost everything they ever worked for, and were stabbed in the back by people they thought would stand by them)......it's b'cos of this attitude that the south east is in its present state today, with the least federal presence; so if their children have now grown up and feel they should at least try and get answers to certain legal sticking-points, let them go ahead.....i'm with them in spirit and prayers.

kettykin: This should have been left in the Dust bin of History , Igbos miss it when it matters most . Just when it does not matter they are digging up Abandoned property issues (possibly Abandoned property in Niger Delta matters to them more than Demolished property in Abuja )

The abandoned properties might not be recovered, but these moves will checkmate another "abandoned properties" saga, when the next "Biafra" comes.

"Biafra" as used above is a metaphor.