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Many Nigerians, particularly in the South East, are beginning to show symptoms of uncertainty and simmering discontent over the government of President Muhammadu Buhari’s decision to withhold Nnamdi Kanu’s release, the leader of the Indigenous People of Biafra, or IPOB.
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His freedom is not in reach days after the IPOB leader was released by the Appeal Court’s decision.
The South-East is currently experiencing worry as a result of the court judgment, which was initially met with elation.
According to Cezzatech, the case between the Federal Government and Kanu, which involved allegations of terrorism, took a dramatic turn last week when the Appeal Court cleared him of all the accusations of terrorism brought against him.
Cezzatech claimed that Kanu had gone to the Appeal Court in Abuja to try to have the Federal Government’s accusations against him dropped because he was unhappy with Justice Binta Nyako’s decision to require him to answer seven of the 15 counts of terrorism against him.
All remaining accusations against Mr. Kanu were dismissed by the Court of Appeal panel, which was chaired by Jummai Sankey, on the grounds that the lower court “lacks the jurisdiction to entertain the complaint.”
The court determined that Mr. Kanu’s extradition from Kenya to Nigeria in June 2021 violated both the IPOB leader’s fundamental human rights and Nigeria’s extradition treaty in a flagrant manner.
As was expected, different Nigerians’ reactions to the ruling were divided.
The majority of Nigerians, especially those in the South East, where Kanu is from, celebrated the Court of Appeal’s decision with joy, according to Cezzatech. There were reports of large celebrations in all of the Zone’s cities.
However, the Federal Government did not appear to be pleased with the Appellate Court’s decision to free Kanu and has since made no secret of its displeasure.
Following the decision, the Attorney General of the Federation, AGF, Abubakar Malami, claimed that the IPOB commander had merely been released by the Court of Appeal, not cleared.
Umar Gwandu, Malami’s spokesperson, released a statement that summarized Malami’s response. It made no promises about the separatist leader’s release from custody as stipulated by the Appeal Court.
“The Court of Appeal’s ruling regarding the trial of Nnamdi Kanu has been announced, according to the Office of the Attorney General of the Federation and Minister of Justice. For the sake of clarity and in accordance with the Court’s ruling, Kanu was only dismissed and not found not guilty.
Because of this, he stated, “the proper legal choices before the authorities will be utilized and disclosed to the public accordingly.”
Contrary to the Federal Government’s response, numerous well-known Igbo leaders and politicians have urged the Federal Government to release Kanu in accordance with the court’s ruling.
They contend that it will ease tension and bring about a return to normalcy in the Five South-Eastern States, which have suffered the most as a result of Kanu’s wrongful detention, notwithstanding the court’s ruling to the contrary.
A prominent voice behind this call was Chukwuemeka Ezeife, a former governor of Anambra State.
In a recent appearance on the Arise TV Morning Show, Ezeife declared that Kanu’s release would make him want to bow or prostrate before Buhari.
“If President Buhari requests that I bow down, I will do so. I’ll bow down if he asks me to just so Nnamdi Kanu can be liberated. It is a waste of time to go before the Supreme Court. Everyone in Nigeria seeks a different Nigeria, he claimed.
The release of the separatist leader has also been strongly demanded by the traditional leaders and head of religious groups in the South East region.
Days following the Appeal Court ruling, however, the Federal Government has maintained a low profile and been silent throughout, keeping the entire country in the dark and creating a sense of suspense.
The General-Secretary of the Ohanaeze Ndigbo, Mazi Okechukwu Isiguzoro, expressed concern over the Federal Government’s response to the court ruling in a statement to the DAILY POST. He urged the Federal Government to consider engaging in dialogue and regretted that Kanu’s imprisonment had contributed to the insecurity currently felt in the South East.
The chief scribe of the most important Igbo sociocultural group spoke in a cordial manner.
“The Igbo’s current stance is that the Federal Government should support the residents of the South East and the Igbo-speaking regions of the South-South, including all of Southern Nigeria, in order to help ease the tension that we are currently feeling in the South East due to Nnamdi Kanu’s detention.
“The Federal Government should think about engaging in conversation rather than appealing that ruling. We praise God that the Federal Government kept its promise to consider all of its alternatives, and we are aware that one of them is to forgo filing an appeal in favor of looking for a political solution to Nnamdi Kanu’s detention. As a result, the Federal Government will stop wasting money on efforts to bring about peace in the South East.
“Whether they acknowledge it or not, whether they believe it or not, Nnamdi Kanu’s imprisonment contributed to the insecurity we are experiencing in the South-east, and many criminals and criminal elements have abused the sincere aspiration of some people who believe they are agitators and who feel that they are sympathetic to the leader of the Indigenous People of Biafra’s (IPOB) incarceration.
Therefore, his release will reduce the tension and assist the Igbo people in identifying the true culprits behind the security issues we are experiencing, which were imported since they were unfamiliar to us. We never anticipated this in this country, where the South East of Nigeria, which was the safest region, would end up resembling Afghanistan.
Therefore, he said, “we are advising the Federal Government to choose discussion, a peaceful method to settle it without spending billions of naira, as opposed to allocating billions of naira in the budget to combat insecurity.
