The Indigenous People of Biafra, IPOB, has given the Federal Government 14 days to ensure that the appeal filed by detained IPOB leader Nnamdi Kanu is listed and heard, threatening to mobilise a boycott of the 2027 elections if the demand is not met.

IPOB spokesman Emma Powerful issued the ultimatum on Tuesday, accusing the Federal Government of showing greater urgency in prosecuting and convicting Kanu than in defending the resulting judgment before the Court of Appeal.

Also read: Kanu’s lawyer reveals crucial trial flaw

The group said it expected the appeal against Kanu’s conviction and life sentence to be listed and heard within the 14-day period.

IPOB warned that failure to do so could trigger what it described as a “total boycott” of elections across Biafraland and beyond.

The demand comes amid renewed attention to Kanu’s legal battle and concerns from his family and supporters about the pace of the appellate proceedings.

Kanu filed a notice of appeal in February 2026, challenging his conviction on seven counts and seeking to have the judgment and sentences imposed by the Federal High Court in Abuja overturned.

Justice James Omotosho convicted Kanu on November 20, 2025, and imposed five life sentences alongside additional prison terms on the remaining counts.

Kanu has maintained his challenge to the conviction and the conduct of his trial.

IPOB’s latest intervention centres on the next stage of that legal process. The group alleges that the Federal Government has not filed its respondent’s brief or taken sufficient steps to have the appeal listed for hearing.

“A country that rushed to convict is now too frightened to defend the conviction,” IPOB’s Head of Directorate of State, Mazi Chris Nwaogu, said in a video broadcast.

The Federal Government has not, in the reports reviewed, publicly responded to the latest 14-day ultimatum.

IPOB has also questioned the legal foundation of Kanu’s conviction and his continued detention, asking what law supported the judgment and the offences for which he remains incarcerated.

The dispute has a longer judicial history. In October 2022, the Court of Appeal discharged Kanu and quashed several counts against him.

The Supreme Court subsequently set aside that decision in December 2023 and ordered the continuation of his trial at the Federal High Court.

That history remains central to the arguments now being advanced by Kanu’s supporters, who continue to challenge aspects of the legal process that led to his conviction.

IPOB has argued that the Federal Government should either defend Kanu’s conviction before the appellate court or release him.

The group’s proposed election boycott is also being framed as a political expression of dissatisfaction rather than support for any particular party or candidate.

IPOB said its supporters participated in the 2023 general elections but argued that disputes arising from those elections and subsequent legal challenges had deepened its members’ distrust of the electoral process.

The group maintained that repeated participation without confidence in the outcome could make a collective withdrawal from future elections a form of political protest.

The threat comes as Nigeria’s political parties and prospective candidates begin positioning themselves ahead of the 2027 general elections, making the dispute over Kanu’s appeal potentially significant beyond the courtroom.

However, an election boycott would not itself determine the legal outcome of Kanu’s case.

His conviction and appeal remain matters for the courts, while any decision on electoral participation would ultimately rest with voters and political actors.

For now, IPOB has placed the Federal Government under a politically sensitive deadline, demanding movement on the IPOB Kanu appeal while warning that failure to meet its demand could have consequences at the ballot box.

Also read: Kanu’s lawyer reveals crucial trial flaw

The group has also renewed its call for Kanu’s immediate and unconditional release, insisting that the government must confront the legal challenge to his conviction rather than allow the matter to remain unresolved.