By Publisher
Senators from the South-east geopolitical zone will today, Wednesday, July 3, meet with the Attorney General of the Federation, AGF, and Minister of Justice, Prince Lateef Fagbemi, SAN, to parley over the possible release Nnamdi Kanu, the leader of the Indigenous People of Biafra, IPOB.
The pro-Biafra agitation has been in the custody of the Department of State Security, DSS, since his forceful repatriation from Kenya about three years ago to be tried for treason.
The Senators from the zone shall be led by Senator Enyinnaya Abaribe, who had stood surety for Kanu in the sum of N100m when he was first arrested, to plead for Kanu’s release to President Bola Ahmed Tinubu through the AGF.
The meeting follows an earlier request made by about 50 House of Representatives members, under the aegis of “Concerned Federal Lawmakers for Peace and Security in the South East”, had on June 23, 2024, appealed to President Bola Tinubu to direct the AGF to invoke Section 174 of the 1999 Constitution to terminate criminal charges against Kanu and order his release.
The Special Assistant on Media to Senator Abaribe, Uchenna Awom, had on Tuesday confirmed the latest development to newsmen in Abuja.
It would also be recalled that Hon. Obi Aguocha, a House of Representatives member representing Ikwuano, Umuahia North and South Federal Constituency, had also sought the help of former President Muhammadu Buhari for the release of Kanu when he visited him his country home in Daura, Katsina, on Saturday and apologised on behalf of Kanu for his “missteps and ill gestures”.
Aguocha had insisted that a political resolution would address the concerns of the aggrieved parties and promote unity within the country in respect of Kanu’s matter.
Besides pleading for the release of Kanu, the South-east Senators intend to convince the Federal Government to discontinue the terrorism charges against the IPOB leader.
Kanu had allegedly jumped his initial bail and fled the country when the military invaded his ancestral home in Abia State with a view to kill him, resulting in the issuance of an arrest warrant against him by the Federal High Court.
However, he was arrested in Kenya and brought back to Nigeria in 2021 fresh terrorism charges while raining in the detention of the DSS.
Many prominent Nigerians, including Kanu Godwin Agabi a former Attorney General of the Federation (AGF) and Minister of Justice, Chief Mike Ozekhome, both Senior Advocate of Nigeria, and lately, Mr. Peter Obi, the presidential candidate of the Labour Party in the 2023 general elections had made a case for the Federal Government to forgive Kanu and order his release from detention.
Kanu’s continued detention has made the South-east region a hotbed of crisis following agitation by his supporters. This has thrown hoodlums and gangsters into the mix, as the entire zone is currently being ravaged by insecurity accompanied by wanton destruction and killings.
