IPOB: Tinubu is facing tremendous pressure to release Nnamdi Kanu
Different emotions have been triggered by the newest step made by the governors of the South-East and members of the National Assembly (NASS) to meet with
President Bola Tinubu in order to discuss the release of Mazi Nnamdi Kanu, the leader of the Indigenous People of Biafra (IPOB), who is currently jailed.
There has been disagreement over Kanu in Nigerian politics.
Some regard him as a danger to the unity of the country, while others see him as a symbol of their fight for independence.
While Abdul-Azeez Suleiman, a spokesman for the Northern Elders Forum, criticized the move, Ohanaeze Ndigbo, the leading Igbo socio-cultural organization,
Olisa Agbakoba, a former president of the Nigerian Bar Association, and Ikoro Ndigbo, among other groups, welcomed it as a step toward finding a political solution to the impasse.
Suleiman contended that Kanu’s release will empower separatist organizations and jeopardize the nation’s criminal justice system.
In addition, some have called the action “belated,” implying that considering the urgency of the issue, it ought to have been taken sooner.
Many people in the South-East region are concerned about Kanu’s prolonged imprisonment.
Many organizations and individuals have long called for the release of the IPOB leader, including Mr. Peter Obi and Alhaji Atiku Abubakar,
the candidates for the Labour Party (LP) and the Peoples Democratic Party (PDP) in the general election of 2023.
Under the auspices of the South-East Governors’ Forum, governors from the region convened in Enugu on Tuesday with the intention of meeting with Tinubu to request Kanu’s release.
Senator Hope Uzodimma, the governor of Imo State and the chairman of the governors, read a press release containing the governors’ choices to the media.
Remarkably, less than twenty-four hours following the governors’ meeting, fifteen senators from the region, led by Senator Enyinnaya Abaribe, a former deputy governor of Abia State, met in Abuja with
Attorney-General of the Federation (AGF) Lateef Fagbemi, SAN, to implore Tinubu to release Kanu.
In an attempt to find a political resolution to the criminal allegations against Kanu, they wrote to the AGF.
Additionally, members of the House of Representatives from the South-East urged the President to think about freeing Kanu.
The call was made by the House caucus from the area, which was signed by 43 legislators from the states of Anambra, Abia, Enugu, Imo, and Ebonyi.
The legislators stated that an out-of-court settlement was still the best choice and that it would bring peace back to the geopolitical region of the South East.
Remember how Concerned Federal Lawmakers for Peace and Security in the South-East, a group of 50 House of Representatives members representing various political parties and regions of Nigeria, had
appealed to Tinubu on June 19 to use Section 174 of the Nigerian Constitution, 1999 (as amended), as well as Section 107(1) of the
Administration of Criminal Justice Act, 2015, to get the IPOB leader out of custody.
The need for a political resolution in Kanu’s case has intensified lately as the FG has been pressured to remove the terrorism charges against the IPOB leader by Igbo political and traditional figures, such as Ohanaeze Ndigbo.
Not at fault
Kanu was returned from Kenya in June 2021 and has been under the Department of State Service’s (DSS) custody ever since. He entered a not guilty plea to the allegations.
On March 19, 2024, the Federal High Court in Abuja denied his request for release. As a result, it is believed that the planned meeting between
Tinubu, NASS members, and the governors of the South-East is a move in the right direction toward resolving the deadlock surrounding Kanu’s arrest.
Speaking, Agbakoba praised the governors’ and federal parliamentarians’ action. “It’s excellent,” he declared, pleading with the
President to take the requests for a diplomatic resolution to the persistent problem into account.
The South-East governors and other leaders were also
congratulated by Ugochimereze Chinedu Asuzu, the Convener of Ikoro Ndigbo, for their efforts to speak with the President about the urgent problem of insecurity in the area.
“Their intervention, albeit delayed, is a welcome development as it prioritizes the welfare of the people, which is the essence of leadership,” the speaker stated.
The region has suffered greatly as a result of the IPOB leader’s protracted arrest, which has hampered economic growth, development, and the exercise of basic human rights like freedom of speech.
Nice move