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From Magnus Eze, Enugu
National Vice Chairman of Labour Party (LP) South East, Chief Innocent Okeke, has called on President Bola Tinubu to as a matter of urgency, free leader of the Indigenous People of Biafra (IPOB), Nnamdi Kanu.
He said such a move would symbolise national healing that Nigeria needed as a country.
Okeke said he was using the auspicious occasion of his birthday, to make the call believing the wise counsel will prevail in the corridors of power in Abuja.
According to him, Kanu is an eminent son of the Igbo, whose incaceration has continued to cause friction in the region.
As an elder, he said he devoted this period to contemplate over the issues plaguing the country, with a focus on the ongoing insecurity in the South East and how best to put an end to it.
“As thoughts streamed through my mind, I came to realize that the key to resolving this problem rests on the Federal Government’s adherence to Court orders/judgement, which has discharged and acquitted Nnamdi Kanu,” Okeke said.
Noting that the IPOB leader’s release will not only promote peace and unity, he added that it will boost the human rights rating of the country.
He declared that the continued detention of Kanu had further deepened the already existing mistrust and resentment between the Igbo youths and the Nigerian Government.
In 2017, Kanu was released on bail after being incarcerated for years on charges of treasonable felony with stringent conditions, which he met.
However, he was re-arrested in June 2021 under a questionable process which the Federal Government called extraordinary rendition and has been held in detention ever since.
Since his rearrest through extraordinary rendition from far way Kenya, the authorities have not formally charged him with any new crime, nor have they allowed him freedom like every other Nigerian.
Consequently, the continued detention of Nnamdi Kanu is a violation of his Fundamental Rights to liberty and a gross abuse of Court Order.
The LP chieftain urged the President not to play politics with the Kanu case as his predecessor, Muhammadu Buhari.
Okeke said: “Releasing Kanu will also help to deescalate the ongoing conflict between the Federal Government and the restive youth groups across Nigeria.
“It will create an atmosphere for dialogue and peaceful resolution of conflicts, which is crucial for sustainable development and nation-building.
“The forthcoming governorship election in Imo state on November 11 is a matter of concern for me.
“Various local government areas such as Oru East, Oru West, Oguta, Orlu, Okigwe, Orsu, and Njaba are now ghost areas and have all been taken over by insecurity caused by both State and non State actors.
“The incessant harm they have caused to people and their properties has led to an atmosphere of fear, and it is expected that voter turnout may be low.
“However, if Nnamdi Kanu is released as ordered by Court of competent jurisdiction it is likely that these hoodlums will lay down their arms and engage in dialogue with the Federal Government. This may bring about an end to the threat to the lives and properties of people in Imo state and the wider South East region.”
