As his detention in the Department of State Service (DSS) continues, family members of the leader of the Indigenous People of Biafra (IPOB), Nnamdi Kanu, are at odds over who should manage his accounts.
According to Vanguard, the crisis is the result of a disagreement over who should be the primary custodian of IPOB’s bank account.
WITHIN NIGERIA understands that the major contenders include two close relatives of the IPOB leader who insist that they are the rightful authorities to keep and maintain the group’s numerous accounts due to their proximity to Kanu and contributions to the activities body.
According to reliable sources, the large sum kept in several bank accounts in various jurisdictions is mostly from freewill donations made by individuals to support the group’s agitation.
According to insiders, while Kanu directed that some of the accounts be manned by his siblings and trusted allies, a disagreement between one of his male and female relatives has not helped matters.
According to a knowledgeable source familiar with IPOB’s operations, Kanu’s male sibling, who claims to be superior in rank in the affairs of the body, did not want the female member of the family to control any of the accounts because she did not understand the group’s structure.
A similar scenario is currently unfolding in the United States, where both siblings of the detained IPOB leader are vying for control of the group’s bank accounts in that country. However, Kanu is said to have ordered the female relatives to leave the account to the male relative until further notice.
Kanu’s lawyer and other key stakeholders of the group met with the detained IPOB leader in Abuja on February 23, 2023, and presented the issue and other matters of concern to him, seeking his approval to resolve them as soon as possible.
It was also learned that Kanu’s lawyer’s key lieutenants proposed that all cash be immediately transferred to its national account and managed by a single trusted ally in order to avoid the current unsavory battle for control.