54 years after the Civil War, Igbo leader and Pan Niger Delta Forum (PANDEF) Chairman Chief Edwin Clark pushed for Nnamdi Kanu’s release and the re-mainstreaming of the Igbo nation in Nigerian affairs. Additionally, the Association of Niger Delta Upland Communities, or ANDUC, recently voiced their opinions; however, we disagree with the “ultimatum” tone in which they expressed themselves. We need to resolve this matter in a fraternal manner.
Ikenga Ugochinyere, the House of Representatives member for Ideato Federal Constituency (PDP, Imo State), sent a letter to media outlets over the weekend informing them that between 44 and 50 members of the three major political parties—the Labour Party (LP), the Peoples Democratic Party (PDP), and the All Progressives Congress (APC)—signed a document demanding Nnamdi Kanu’s freedom.
They desire that Nnamdi Kanu be freed and the accusations against him be dismissed, and they urge the Attorney General of the Federation, Lateef Fagbemi, to use his authority under Section 174 of the Constitution to accomplish this. Omoyele Sowore and Chief Sunday Igboho, who were accused of treason, had already received a similar gesture.
Muhammadu Buhari, the former president, had maintained that Kanu’s destiny could only be decided by the judiciary. On April 8, 2022, the Federal High Court in Abuja, presided over by Justice Binta Murtala Nyako, dismissed eight of Nnamdi Kanu’s fifteen accusations since his extraordinary rendition from Kenya in July 2021. Later, on October 14, 2022, the court of appeals dismissed all of the allegations against him and granted his discharge.
In spite of this, the Federal Government persisted in asking the Supreme Court to reopen the treason trial. He is still under the Directorate of State Service’s (DSS) custody.
Additionally, on July 22, 2022, the UN Human Rights Working Group on Arbitrary Detention demanded that Kanu be released “immediately and unconditionally,” using international law as justification for his extraordinary rendition from Kenya.
Even to the international world, Kanu appears more and more to be a prisoner of conscience and a victim of legal persecution. One of the main causes of the discontent in the South-East, which was formerly one of the more tranquil areas of the nation, is his prolonged confinement.
It is our demand that the Federal Government accept Kanu’s offer to engage in negotiations. But he has to give up violence and swear allegiance to the law. He needs to stay out of situations that could land him back in court.
Chief Clark gave wise counsel, and Nigeria must follow it by ensuring that we “build a nation where no man is oppressed” going forward.
