Hon. Obi Aguocha, a lawmaker representing Abia State’s Ikwuano/Umuahia North/Umuahia South Federal Constituency, has asked former President Muhammadu Buhari to step in and secure the release of Nnamdi Kanu, the leader of the Indigenous People of Biafra, who is now jailed.
Following the military raid on his residence during the Buhari administration, Kanu fled the country and was apprehended in Kenya before being returned to Nigeria in July 2021.
Since then, he has been held in custody on a number of allegations, including treason.
In an attempt to start a conversation on a political solution for the IPOB leader’s release, Aguocha paid Buhari a visit on Saturday at his country residence in Daura.
Chronicle NG reported that Kanu, against his former position, denounced the killings in the South-East over IPOB’s agitation for secession and appealed for an out-of-court settlement in his ongoing treason trial by the Federal Government.
Speaking in a conversation with his lawyers, who pointed out to him that he needed to speak up to stop the killings, Kanu said, “I condemn any manner of killing. I condemn every manner of killing in its entirety.
“I want people to understand that IPOB was founded on a non-violent principle, and we maintain that to this very day. Some of these soldiers, we’re told, are also our people. And the families are now in mourning. All the making of young widows is condemned in its entirety. I don’t want it; I don’t want anybody to die.
“If we are fighting for freedom, then how can we fight death at the same time? It’s not possible; we want people to be free. That’s all we’re fighting for, nothing more.”
In a statement issued on Sunday by Aguocha’s media team, the federal lawmaker was quoted as telling Buhari, “For the missteps, utterances, and ill gestures of the past, especially on the part of my constituent and brother, Nnamdi Kanu, I am deeply sorry.”
Aguocha continued by expressing his conviction that a political solution will foster greater understanding and unity throughout the nation, in addition to resolving the problems of all parties involved.
Buhari, as president, rejected a diplomatic resolution to Kanu’s case and insisted that he must stand trial.
In 2022, Buhari stated he would not meddle in the legal system in an interview with Channels TV.
“There is one institution that I wouldn’t interfere with, and that is the judiciary. Kanu’s case is with the judiciary, but what I wonder is that when Kanu was safely in Europe, abusing this administration and mentioning too many things, I thought he wanted to come and defend himself on the accusations.
“So, we are giving him an opportunity to defend himself in our system, not to abuse us from Europe as if he were not a Nigerian. Let him come here with us and then criticise us here. Nigerians know that I don’t interfere with the judiciary; let him be listened to. But those who are saying that he should be released—no, we cannot release him.”
Nonetheless, Buhari was cited by Aguocha’s media office on Sunday as praising the congressman for his modesty and commitment to the cause of his people.
“This meeting (with Buhari) is part of a broad-based initiative aimed at securing a speedy political resolution of the issues surrounding Nnamdi Kanu’s detention and trial and securing his subsequent release in the spirit of engendering dialogue and non-contentious approaches to resolving thorny national issues, in the understanding that Mazi Nnamdi Kanu is willing, ready, and able to embrace the new dynamic in joining hands across the country in building a new Nigeria where peace, equity, justice, and prosperity shall reign,” the statement further read.
In a recent letter, Aguocha led fifty members of the House of Representatives representing the six geopolitical zones to ask President Bola Tinubu to order the Minister of Justice and Attorney-General of the Federation, Lateef Fegbemi, to use Section 107 of the Administration of Criminal Justice Act, 2015, and Section 174(1)(c) of the 1999 Constitution as amended to set the stage for achieving the desired result.
