On Wednesday in Abuja, senators from Southeast Nigeria fervently begged President Bola Tinubu to order the release of Nnamdi Kanu, the incarcerated agitator for the Biafran Nation.
The 15 senators, led by Enyinnaya Abaribe, a former deputy governor of Abia State, asserted that unless Kanu is freed, social and economic activity in the Southeast will remain stagnant.
During a private meeting between the Senators and Prince Lateef Fagbem, SAN, the Attorney General of the Federation and Minister of Justice, the latter pleaded with Tinubu to free Kanu.
Speaking on behalf of his colleagues, Abaribe addressed the judiciary correspondents right after the closed-door meeting. He bemoaned the fact that the Southeast’s social life and economy had already suffered enough as a result of the activist for the Biafra nation’s ongoing detention.
Abaribe expressed severe concern over the fact that thugs and seasoned criminals had taken advantage of the nonviolent demand of the arrested IPOB leader, killing innocent people—including security personnel—without cause or justice.
The former deputy governor of Abia state informed reporters that he had already visited with Kanu on Monday at the Department of State Services (DSS) headquarters in Abuja, and that Kanu had consented to follow any conditions imposed on his release.
Senator Abaribe expressed optimism that once Kanu is released, the tension and acrimonies engulfing the Southeast region since 2021 when he was clamped into DSS custody would become an event of the past.
The Senators therefore pleaded with the AGF to convey their message to President Tinubu and for the AGF to use his position to terminate all charges brought against the IPOB leader by the federal government.
Besides the Senators, Abaribe said that virtually all political leaders, religious leaders and stakeholders have unanimously agreed that Kanu be released for peace to bounce back to the region.
The Senators therefore pleaded with the AGF to convey their message to President Tinubu and for the AGF to use his position to terminate all charges brought against the IPOB leader by the federal government.
Besides the Senators, Abaribe said that virtually all political leaders, religious leaders and stakeholders have unanimously agreed that Kanu be released for peace to bounce back to the region.
Recall that in 2021, the Federal Government re-arrested Kanu in Kenya and brought him to the nation to stand prosecution for acts of terrorism.
Despite his plea of not guilty, Justice Binta Nyako of the Federal High Court in Abuja refused to grant him release, citing his prior bail jump, in which Senator Abaribe was his surety.
Since then, Kanu has been under the DSS’s custody per the Federal High Court of Abuja’s ruling.
