There are very strong indications that freedom may soon be on the way of the detained leader of the proscribed Indigenous People of Biafra(IPOB), Mazi Nnamdi Kanu.
Kanu has been in detention since June 2021, following his extraordinary rendition from Kenya by the Government of former President Muhammadu Buhari..….CONTINUE READING
Since then, various pleas by leaders of the Igbo Nation and others from different parts of the country for his freedom have gone unheeded, with the Federal Government charging him with terrorism and other related offences at a Federal High Court.
Among the Igbo leaders, who pleaded for the release of Kanu, sent emissaries and visited Buhari then were the late Chief Mbazulike Amaechi, the late Chief Chukwuemeka Ezeife and the late President General of the Ohanaeze Ndigbo, Chief Emmanuel Iwuanyanwu, among others. The trio died without seeing Kanu released.
Similarly, other prominent Igbo men, such as the Governor of Anambra State, Prof. Charles Soludo and the Senator representing Abia South, Enyinnaya Abaribe, have made a case for the release of Kanu to them but the IPOB leader has been denied bail by the courts, even as the leader of the Yoruba Nation agitators, Sunday Adeyemo otherwise known as Sunday Igboho and activist, Omoyele Sowore, who were hunted by Buhari have since been released.
Sowore is among those who have called for the release of Kanu.
At his last court appearance in June, Kanu’s Lawyer, Aloysius Ejimakor, indicated that Kanu was willing to negotiate with the Federal Government for his release. But the counsel to the Federal Government, Adegboyega Awomolo, SAN, told Kanu and his Counsel to approach the office of the Attorney General of the Federation for such discussions, as he did not have the mandate to negotiate.
Awomolo said the powers to grant such requests rested on the AGF.
He pointed out that the AGF was the one with the power to approach the court for an out-of-court settlement.
“I told him to go to the Attorney-General of the Federation, who has the power. If he is interested in negotiating, he should go there. His office is just here,” Awomolo told Justice Binta Nyako, the presiding Judge.
Justice Nyako said the court had no problem with Kanu’s proposition for an out-of-court settlement and advised him to approach the AGF for the possibility.
She however, ordered the DSS to provide an “unbugged space” for Kanu to meet with his lawyers each time they were at the facility to prepare him for trial.
Federal Government and Kanu are discussing his freedom currently. A top government official said that the time for Kanu’s release was not clear yet but said that the Federal Government was discussing with Kanu and his lawyers under certain conditions.
“Yes, discussions are ongoing. I cannot say for now, how long it would take but a lot of talks are going on to find a political solution to the problem. The Federal Government understands how important his release is to the security situation in the South East and also acknowledges the efforts of South East leaders to maintain the peace in the zone. At least, for the fact that the #EndBadGovernance protests across the country did not happen in the South-East speaks volume. We are discussing with Kanu and leaders of the zone on finding a peaceful resolution to the issue,” said the official, who did not want to be named because he was not authorized to speak on the matter.
He added that there were also other interests across the country that were involved in the negotiations. He said it was not just about releasing Kanu but all about ensuring that all parties were satisfied.
Asked if Kanu, being a British citizen cannot be released and allowed to travel back to Britain, he said: “No! We don’t want him to flee and start causing trouble again. We want him to be here. He is first a Nigerian before being British. Remember, he was previously granted bail by the court. How did that end? That is why we are having a measured discussion with him now. Have you observed his utterances these days when he appears in court? Is he not speaking reasonably and denouncing the violence in his region? That shows you that we are making progress as he is distancing himself from every act of bloodletting in the South-East. I don’t know when but I can assure you, we are talking with him and working on his freedom.”
Kanu issue that the Ohanaeze Ndigbo have refrained from discussing the President Bola Tinubu’s government. It was gathered that discussions are taking place between Ohanaeze leaders and the Federal Government, secretly.
Just before he died, in an exclusive interview with Sunday Telegraph, Iwuanyanwu had said that he was optimistic Tinubu would release Kanu at the right time. He said Tinubu promised to meet leaders of the Apex Igbo group in Abuja, ‘when the president has time.’
The meeting did not take place until Iwuanyanwu died, but findings indicate that leaders of the South-East, key figures in the Senate and House of Representatives, the governors of the region and Kanu’s lawyers are actively working on a political solution.
It is believed that the months ahead will make even clearer, the pathway to Kanu’s freedom.
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