Reported by: Ijeoma G | Edited by: Oravbiere Osayomore Promise.
The Indigenous People of Biafra has launched a scathing attack on the British government, accusing it of hypocrisy and selective application of international law for condemning Israel's expansion of settlements in Jerusalem while allegedly turning a blind eye to the continued detention and torture of its leader, Mazi Nnamdi Kanu. IPOB's spokesperson, Comrade Emma Powerful, issued the statement on Friday, August 21, 2026, in response to British Foreign Secretary Ed Miliband's condemnation of Israel's decision to advance the E1 settlement project east of Jerusalem. Miliband had described the Israeli government's action as an "unacceptable and destructive act" that risks severing the West Bank from East Jerusalem and ending hopes for a two-state solution. The Foreign Secretary also summoned Israel's Chargé d'Affaires to the Foreign, Commonwealth and Development Office, demanding an immediate reversal of the tender for 1,234 settlement units.
IPOB, however, rejected Britain's moral authority to lecture Israel on international law, pointing to what it described as Britain's complicity in the violation of the rights of Kanu, a British citizen. According to the group, the United Nations Human Rights Council has officially indicted Nigeria for gross violations of international law and jus cogens norms in Kanu's case, including torture and extraordinary rendition after he was forcibly returned from Kenya in 2021. "The UN Working Group explicitly called for his immediate release and payment of compensation for these grave violations. These are not the words of IPOB. These are the findings of the highest international human rights bodies," the statement read. IPOB accused the British government of failing to support the UN findings despite Kanu's status as a British citizen, alleging that Britain chose to assist Nigeria in defying international law rather than demanding justice for its citizen.
"The same Britain now lecturing Israel about 'international law' turned a blind eye to the torture of a British citizen. The same Britain invoking legal principles against our Israeli brothers and sisters actively helped Nigeria circumvent those very principles when it concerned Mazi Nnamdi Kanu," Powerful declared. IPOB further criticised Miliband's position on Israel as "entirely one-sided," accusing Britain of condemning Israel over construction near Jerusalem while allegedly failing to adequately address Palestinian terrorism, incitement and the Palestinian Authority's "pay for slay" policy. The group argued that this policy of blaming Israel while ignoring Palestinian extremism had contributed to increased antisemitic hatred against Britain's Jewish community.
IPOB reaffirmed its support for Israel, recognising Jerusalem as Israel's "eternal and undivided capital". "The Jewish people have the right to live throughout the historic and Biblical land of Israel. Jerusalem is Israel, and Israel is Jerusalem," the statement declared. The group also cited the Balfour Declaration, arguing that Britain had historically recognised the Jewish people's right to the land and therefore lacked the moral authority to dictate where Jewish people should live in their historic homeland. IPOB subsequently demanded consistency in Britain's application of international law, calling on the British government to publicly support the UN findings concerning Kanu, demand his release and compensation from the Nigerian government, and end what it described as the selective application of international law based on political convenience. "Britain must choose: respect international law for all, or be exposed as a hypocrite that uses law only as a weapon against its friends," IPOB warned.
Britain's condemnation of Israel came after the Israeli government launched a tender for the construction of 1,234 settlement homes in the E1 area, a strategically sensitive 12-square-kilometre zone between East Jerusalem and the Maale Adumim settlement. The project, which has long been internationally condemned, would effectively bisect the West Bank and deal a potentially fatal blow to the territorial viability of a future Palestinian state. Miliband warned that settlement expansion and settler violence were worsening conditions for Palestinians and creating irreversible divisions on the ground. He announced that Britain would set out a comprehensive package of measures in the coming weeks, including targeted sanctions against those involved in illegal settlement expansion.
Israel's Foreign Minister Gideon Sa'ar rejected Miliband's statement "outright," describing it as "patronising" and "entirely one-sided". Sa'ar said it was "absurd for Britain to lecture the Jewish people about where they may live in their historic tiny homeland". The exchange has deepened tensions between the two countries, with Britain summoning Israel's Chargé d'Affaires and warning of sanctions. Israel's general election is scheduled for October 27, 2026, and the timing of the tender has raised concerns that it may be aimed at influencing the outcome. Meanwhile, IPOB's intervention adds a new dimension to the controversy, linking Britain's stance on Israel to its alleged failure to protect the rights of a British citizen. Kanu is currently serving a life sentence in Sokoto State on treason-related charges, which he has denied and appealed. For IPOB, the issue is not just about Israel, but about what it sees as a pattern of British hypocrisy that must be challenged.
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