Honour Iwuanyanwu by releasing him, Nnamdi Kanu’s family begs Tinubu

The family of Nnamdi Kanu, leader of the Indigenous People of Biafra (IPOB), has appealed to President Bola Tinubu to release the IPOB leader in honour of the late leader of Ohaneze Ndigbo, Emmanuel Iwuanyanwu.

Mr Kanu, who is facing terrorism charges, has been in detention since he was repatriated to Nigeria from Kenya in June 2021 under controversial circumstances.

Mr Iwuanyanwu, the president-general of Ohanaeze Ndigbo, died in July this year. He will be buried in November.

Release Nnamdi Kanu

During a hearing on Tuesday, Justice Binta Nyako of the Federal High Court, Abuja, announced her withdrawal from Mr Kanu’s trial after the IPOB leader accused her of bias.

In a statement issued on behalf of the family, Emmanuel Kanu, a brother to the IPOB leader, said the judge’s withdrawal from the trial has given an opportunity for a political solution to be adopted in resolving the matter, Vanguard newspaper reported.

Emmanuel urged President Tinubu to take advantage of the “current judicial reality” in Mr Kanu’s trial to release the IPOB leader.

He pleaded with the president to grant Mr Kanu freedom the same way he (Tinubu) freed Yoruba nation activist, Sunday Adeyemo, popularly known as Sunday Igboho.

“We request the president to be fair and apply the same universal justice, fairness that was applied to freeing Sunday Igboho who is his tribesman.

“We pray for the happy repose of the soul of the late Ohaneze President General, Chief Emmanuel Iwuanyanwu, and ask the President and South-east governors to show respect to the late Igbo leader by releasing Mazi Nnamdi Kanu,” he said.

Task for South-east governors

The family, without evidence, accused South-east governors of blocking Mr Kanu’s release.

“Why can’t the South-east governors take a cue from other zones who collectively worked for the freedom of their freedom fighters? South-east governors, what are you afraid of?” They said.

The family asked Governor Hope Uzodinma of Imo State to “show leadership” as the chairperson of the region’s Governors Forum by leading the efforts to secure Mr Kanu’s release.

“Traditional and Religious leaders should create the atmosphere for the coming together of the South-east stakeholders to enable coherence and commonality in going to the president to demand the release of their son,” the statement said.

Igbos being marginalised

Emmanuel also said in the statement that the Igbo-speaking people in the South-east were being marginalised despite being a major tribe in Nigeria.

“There can never be progress and prosperity when one of the tripods of which Nigeria is built upon is intentionally marginalised and discriminated against,” he said.

“The Igbo tribe has shown good faith in the Nigerian project and it is mostly the Igbo that invests and builds wealth in every part of the nation without contemplating that they are not indigenous to the local environment.”

The family told Nigerian security agencies not to see Mr Kanu’s release as a defeat but as a victory for all and in the interest of the entire country.

Background

The Court of Appeal, Abuja, held on 13 October 2022 that the IPOB leader was extraordinarily renditioned to Nigeria. The action was a flagrant violation of the country’s extradition treaty and also a breach of his fundamental human rights.

The court, therefore, struck out the terrorism charges filed against Mr Kanu by the Nigerian government and ordered his release from the facility of the SSS.

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But the government refused to release the IPOB leader, insisting that he (Kanu) could be unavailable in subsequent court proceedings if released and that his release would cause insecurity in the South-east, where he comes from.

The government, through the office of the Attorney-General of the Federation, later appealed the court ruling and subsequently obtained an order staying the execution of the court judgement at the Supreme Court.

Delivering judgement on the appeal on 15 December 2023, the Supreme Court reversed the acquittal granted to Mr Kanu by the lower court and consequently ordered the continuation of his trial at the Federal High Court Abuja.