The Labour Party leader, Kenneth Okonkwo, attributed Nnamdi Kanu’s lengthy arrest to ethnic prejudice, as reported by the DAILY POST. The Indigenous People of Biafra (IPOB) are led by Kanu. Kanu has been in the Department of State Services’ (DSS) custody since his extradition from Kenya in June 2021. On charges of terrorism, he is currently being prosecuted at the federal supreme court.CONTINUE FULL READING>>>>>
Noting that Kanu has not committed any more crimes than other separatists whose cases have been dropped, Okonkwo said that ethnic bias is the reason for Kanu’s continuing arrest. He gave the examples of Boko Haram members who were freed and reintegrated into society, as well as Yoruba nation agitator Sunday Igboho.
In order to restore peace to the southeast, Okonkwo stressed that the government ought to think about releasing Kanu, either unconditionally or under certain restrictions. He emphasized that Kanu had legal grounds for release because many court levels have either granted him bail or dropped the accusations against him. According to Okonkwo, Kanu is a political prisoner whose influence only grows the longer he is detained and the government’s influence decreases. He called on the federal government to release Kanu, as it has done with other separatists, in a logical manner.
To quote him: “We know about Sunday Igboho of the Yoruba nation agitator. We know of the Boko Haram people who say that they want a different country where Western education is an abomination.
“These people have been released, not just that they have been released; in the case of Boko Haram, they have been reassimilated into society and given plum jobs. Why is Nnamdi Kanu’s case different? There is an ethnic and some unnecessary bias that is keeping that man in jail. The government should be wise enough to release this man. You can release him conditionally or unconditionally.”
Kanu’s release has been demanded on many occasions, especially by those involved in the southeast. 50 House of Representatives members pleaded with President Bola Tinubu to order Kanu’s release in June. The South-East Governors’ Forum also decided to meet with Tinubu in order to push for the release of the separatist leader. Monday sit-at-home orders demanding Kanu’s release have been enforced by gunmen more frequently in the southeast.CONTINUE FULL READING>>>>>
