The governor of Anambra State, Chukwuma Soludo, has reiterated his appeal for the release of the imprisoned leader of the Indigenous People of Biafra (IPOB), Mazi Nnamdi Kanu, stating that this will foster sustainable development and ensure security in the South-East.
Soludo stated that if outgoing president Muhammadu Buhari failed to heed the request of numerous Nigerians and stakeholders to release Kanu, he (Soludo) would shift his focus to the incoming administration of Bola Tinubu to honor the request.
SaharaReporters reported in June 2021 that the leader of IPOB was kidnapped in Kenya and extrajudicially extradited to Nigeria in violation of international and national law to face treasonous felony charges in court.
Since then, he has remained in solitary confinement at the headquarters of the Department of State Services (DSS), despite the fact that a number of court rulings and the United Nations Human Rights Commission on arbitrary detention have ordered his release and the payment of adequate reparations.
Also, South-East leaders, including the apex Igbo socio-cultural organization Ohanaeze Ndigbo, have repeatedly urged President-elect Muhammadu Buhari to release Kanu and engage in dialogue, but to no avail.
SaharaReporters reported on Friday that the governor of Anambra had written to President Buhari requesting that Kanu be released before he leaves office.
However, during an appearance on a Channels TV program on Friday, Soludo stated that if Buhari failed to release the IPOB leader, he would transfer his focus to the incoming government of Bola Tinubu.
The governor, whose state, Anambra, is one of the sit-at-home protest locations against Kanu’s continued imprisonment, stated that the economy had been severely impacted.
According to him, Bola Tinubu, the “President-elect”, was also copied on the April 20 letter.
Soludo stated, “This is a cause in which one can believe. I am a consistent proponent of the rule of law and justice for all; therefore, if you look at that letter, it was copied to the “President-elect,” Asiwaju Bola Ahmed Tinubu, and I believe a copy has been delivered to his office.
“The Attorney General is also copied on this letter, and if President Muhammadu Buhari’s administration fails to take advantage of this opportunity to rise above everything and act as a statesman, we will pursue the same thing with the incoming administration,” the letter reads.
Soludo believed that if Kanu was released, he would be able to identify his true people and control them, isolating the perpetrators.
