Buhari ignores South-East leaders’ plea to release Kanu

President Muhammadu Buhari has insisted that the leader of the Indigenous People of Biafra (IPOB) Nnamdi Kanu must defend himself in court.

Buhari said this while responding to appeals for the release of the detained IPOB leader.

The South-East traditional, religious and political leaders made the appeal during a Town Hall meeting with the President in Abakaliki, the Ebonyi State capital on Friday.

The meeting was the last official engagement of the President, who was on a two-day working visit to the state.

Buhari said: “I have listened carefully to the various appeals from the elders to the traditional leaders regarding wide range of options.

“As I have said previously this matter remains in the full purview of the courts where it will be properly adjudicated.

“My worry is for our hardworking and innocent civilians, for whom life is already though and would like to earn a decent and honest living.”

The President frowned at the brutal activities of terrorists in the South-East and other parts of the country.

Buhari reiterated the commitment of his administration to continue to protect and defend innocent citizens from those bent on causing breakdown of law and order across the country.

He further expressed concern over the worsening security situation in the region, reiterating his directive to security agencies to flush out those perpetrating violence in the land.

Speaking at the meeting, Ebonyi State Governor, David Umahi, who appreciated the President for his visit to the state, reiterated his position on political solution to the Nnamdi Kanu dilemma.

On his presidential ambition, Umahi expressed optimism that President Buhari would support South-East Presidency in 2023.

The governor, however, said it would be morally wrong for any candidate from the South-South and South-West to vie for the All Progressives Congress (APC) presidential ticket if the party agreed to zone it to the South.

Others, who spoke at the event, including the Chairman, South-East Traditional Rulers, Eze Charles Mkpumah, the Chairman of Christian Association of Nigeria (CAN), South-East, Rev. Abraham Nwali, appealed for the release of Kanu.

Nnamdi Kanu has been facing trial before Justice Nyako of the Abuja Federal High Court over charges of treasonable felony and terrorism.

The IPOB leader, who was granted bail in April 2017, had fled Nigeria after the invasion of his home in Afara-Ukwu, near Umuahia, Abia State, by the military in September 2017.

However, the Attorney-General of the Federation (AGF), Abubakar Malami, on June 29, 2021, announced that Nnamdi Kanu had been rearrested and extradited to Nigeria to continue facing his trial.

The Star

Segun Ojo