Nnamdi Kanu has dissolved the third Directorate of the State (DOS) of the Indigenous People of Biafra (IPOB) and appointed Chris Nwaọgụ to lead a new fourth DOS administration. Kanu, who's serving a prison term in Sokoto, said the decision followed a careful assessment of the third DOS's performance under Chikadibia Edoziem.

Edoziem was appointed by Kanu in 2017 while Kanu was in Kuje prison. But in a counter-statement on Thursday, Edoziem rejected the dissolution, calling it null and void. He went further: he announced the indefinite suspension of Kanu as IPOB leader and as director of Radio Biafra.

"No individual of whatever rank or position has the authority or power to dissolve the DOS of the Indigenous People of Biafra which is the apex institution overseeing the affairs of the movement," Edoziem said.

Edoziem claimed the decision to suspend Kanu was taken at a meeting of DOS members on Wednesday. He said they received a tip-off that Kanu met with SSS and NIA officials at Sokoto prison and allegedly reached a deal to compromise the movement, dissolve the DOS, and set up a militia to cause violence in the South-east.

Kanu's statement, released by IPOB spokesperson Emma Powerful and Kanu's brother Kanunta Kanu, listed specific failures of the Edoziem-led administration: abandoning detained IPOB members, misplaced priorities, internal distractions, failure to protect IPOB's integrity, and failing to safeguard the group's strategic communication platforms.

"The dissolution of the 3rd Administration is ultimately not an act of vengeance but an act of organisational renewal," the statement said.

Edoziem, however, claimed IPOB was formed by a group of Biafrans in the diaspora, not by any single individual. Records show Kanu founded IPOB in 2012.

The DOS is the administrative arm of IPOB, set up by Kanu in 2012 to handle day-to-day operations. The fourth DOS under Nwaọgụ is now tasked with rebuilding confidence, restoring unity, and re-establishing accountability, discipline, and collective responsibility.

This internal clash comes at a time when IPOB has been under heavy government pressure. Kanu was re-arrested in 2021 and convicted in 2025 on charges including treasonable felony. His imprisonment hasn't stopped him from issuing directives, but this open rebellion by a former close ally signals deep fractures within the separatist group.

It's unclear which faction the majority of IPOB members will follow. Both sides claim authority, and both have issued statements through their own channels. The next few weeks will show whether Kanu's command still holds or whether Edoziem's faction can build a parallel structure.