Onyebuchi Onwuchekwa, Owerri
The President-General of Ohanaeze Ndigbo Worldwide, John Azuta-Mbata, has appealed to President Bola Tinubu’s administration to release Nnamdi Kanu, the detained leader of the Indigenous People of Biafra (IPOB), citing concerns over his health and welfare.
In a video message shared with journalists, Azuta-Mbata emphasized that Kanu’s prolonged detention serves no meaningful purpose and urged the government to consider a political solution to his case.
Azuta-Mbata emphasized that Kanu’s prolonged detention neither benefits the government nor the country at large.
“The government has no serious advantage in keeping him. It is important that the government ensures his safety and welfare, and that the government must allow him to go and get medical treatment as quickly as possible.”
“The government must adopt a political solution to this situation,” he said.
Mbata noted that Kanu’s continued detention risks deepening tensions in the South-East region, while suggesting that embracing dialogue and political negotiation would be more beneficial than prolonged court battles or incarceration.
It will be recalled that Kanu was first arrested in 2015 on charges bordering on treasonable felony.
He was later granted bail but fled the country in 2017 after his home was invaded by security operatives. In June 2021, he was rearrested in Kenya through a controversial operation by Nigerian security agencies and has since remained in the custody of the Department of State Services (DSS)
Kanu’s health issues, including dangerously low potassium levels, pancreas and liver problems, and a suspicious lump under his armpit, have raised concerns about his well-being in detention.
In another development,Human rights lawyer Malcolm Omirhobo has also condemned the government’s handling of Kanu’s case, calling for his immediate release.
Investigator news gathered that observers see Azuta-Mbata’s intervention as adding to growing pressure on President Tinubu’s administration to explore alternative measures to resolve the Biafra agitation
