Amid rising tensions in the South east just a few weeks to the 2023 general elections, the Federal Government continues in its punitive detention of Mazi Nnadi Kanu, embattled leader of the Indigenous People of Biafra (IPOB) despite spirited calls by groups and individuals for his immediate release, Udoka Ekeleme reviews these calls from Abuja
The recent call for the immediate release of Mazi Nnamdi Kanu from detention by Professor Chukwuma Soludo, the Anambra State governor has been commended by many Nigerians who detest the unending detention that is fueling tensions in the South east. The governor made the call Saturday, January 14, 2023 in Awka, the Anambra State capital during the presidential campaign of the All Progressives Grand Alliance (APGA).
Soludo advised President Muhammadu to ensure that as the nation’s general elections are coming up in the first quarter of the year, it was desirable for Kanu to be released from prison in order to restore peace in the restive South east region of the country. Soludo also pledged to stand surety for Kanu and added that he would be ready to produce the leader of the Indigenous People of Biafra (IPOB) any time the authorities needed to see him.
The IPOB leader has remained in the custody of the Department of State Service (DSS) since June 2021 when he was arrested in Kenya and bundled back to Nigeria. From the DSS custody he has been coming to court amid deteriorating health. In a twist of fate, the Appeal Court sitting in Abuja had on Thursday, October 13, 2022 granted Kanu unconditional freedom when it declared as illegal and unlawful, the forceful abduction and rendition of the Biafra nation agitator from Kenya.
However, the Federal Government had also approached the same Appeal Court to halt Kanu release as ordered by the Court of Appeal, insisting that Kanu still had other cases to answer. The Federal Government’s plea was granted by the Appeal Court which ordered the stay of execution of its own declaration and order that Kanu be released.
Since then numerous voices have been demanding that Kanu should be released so that he would get proper medical attention, as well as to ensure that peace returns to the South east. These prominent voices, include the Ohanaeze Ndigbo, which is the umbrella body of Igbo leaders, the Afenifere of the Yoruba of the South west among others. Unfortunately, the Federal Government had bluffed these voices which had resulted in the continuous detention of Kanu.
But sensing the deteriorating peace, senseless killings and wanton destruction of public facilities, including those of the Nigeria Police Force (NPF) and the Independent National Electoral Commission (INEC) in the South east, governor Soludo had on January 14 demanded thus: “ I am making a passionate appeal to the Federal Government to release Mazi Nnamdi Kanu unconditionally. If he cannot be released unconditionally, I want him released to me, and I will stand surety for him.
“We need Nnamdi Kanu in the round table conversation to discuss the insecurity in the South east. We must end insecurity in the South east, and we need Nnamdi kanu to be around.
Soludo continued, “Sometime ago we set up the Truth and Reconciliation Committee to find out the root cause of insecurity in the South east and they have almost concluded their assignment. But this issue of insecurity cannot be well addressed without bringing to the table the key players in the matter.
We have applied the kinetic and non-kinetic approach to fighting insecurity in the South east, but the non-kinetic approach cannot be completed without the Federal Government releasing Mazi Nnamdi Kanu.
“We must bring him to the table because we need him to be part of this process, and I call on the Federal Government to release Nnamdi Kanu to me, for us to have a comprehensive discussion for the fate of the South east. If we cannot releae him based on the court process, I hereby offer myself as the surety for his release, and whenever you want him, I will hand him over to you.We shall provide him shelter and give him home, and we make this plea in the true belief in the spirit of peace in the South east”.
Many security analysts have, since the Soludo call, been advocating for the release of Kanu, insisting that his release would bring a measure of peace and stability, and reduce the level of insecurity in the South east. According to them, the arrest in Kenya and the continued detention of Kanu which is affecting his physical health seriously, is what has been worsening the insecurity situation in the South east. These analysts, as with Soludo, believe that there is no better time for President Muhammadu Buhari to let Kanu off the hook than in this period of the general election so that the South east can effectively participate in the polls without security challenges.
