Soludo Demands The Release of Leader of The Indigenous People of Biafra (IPOB) Nnamdi Kanu

Prominent Igbo leaders drawn from the aca­demia, banking, man­ufacturing sector and the media, have demanded the immediate release of detained leader of the Indigenous Peo­ples of Biafra (IPOB), Mazi Nnamdi Kanu.
The leaders, led by former Governor of the Central Bank of Nigeria (CBN), Prof. Chuk­wuma Soludo and former pres­idential aspirant, Prof. Pat Uto­mi, made a case for Kanu’s release on Tuesday after they visited him at the Kuje Medi­um Security Prison in Abuja.

Kanu has been detained by the Federal Government since October 2015 over alleged acts of treason and running an ille­gal organisation.
Although some courts in the country and the ECOWAS Court of Justice have ruled in favour of the unconditional release of Kanu in the cases filed against him, the Federal Government is yet to comply with any of the judge­ments.
Soludo and his members, who operate under the umbrella of ‘Nzuko Umunna’, a pan-Igbo group, also appealed to the gov­ernment to free Kanu’s colleagues who were also locked up in jail.
The Igbo leaders, who spoke on other burning national issues, lamented that Nigeria was more divided now than ever.
Other members of the group were Tony Nnadi (Secretary-General of LNC), Dr. Udenta Udenta (National Secretary of Al­liance Democracy), Emeka Ug­wuoju (Chairman South East, South-South Professionals), Col­lins Ugwu, Law Mefor, Dr. Ferdi­nand Agu, Prof. Chidi Odinkalu, Rev. Fr. C. Jude, Ebere Onwudi­we, Emeka Ugwu-Oju, Dr. Sam Amadi, Innocent Chukwuma, and Andy Wabali.
In a statement he read on be­half of the group at a press con­ference in Abuja, Soludo con­demned the killing of IPOB members by security agencies in the South East and South-South geopolitical zones.
Although the military au­thorities have refuted the claims, Amnesty International put the figure of pro-Biafra protesters killed by security agents at over 150.
Soludo confirmed to journal­ists that his group visited Kanu in Kuje Prision.
He said: “We are a delegation of Nzuko Umunna, a pan-Igbo group. We visited Nnamdi Kanu to hear his own point of view as well as share our own point of view with him.
“We believe that Nigeria has the potential to be great, and like most countries, has its pecu­liar challenges. Nigeria has nev­er been more divided than now. Most discerning patriots have come to the conclusion that Ni­geria as currently structured is destined to be a failed state.
“It is our belief that most of the agitation is in response to a looting elite. We do not condone violence,” he said.
The group also took a swipe at the way the ruling All Progres­sives Congress (APC) handled national issues. It accused the par­ty of abandoning its cardinal re­sponsibility to Nigerians.”
The Igbo leaders declared that Nigerians were yet to see the change they voted for in 2015.
They therefore appealed to the APC to reinvent itself and give all Nigerians a sense of belonging.
Soludo said: “We note that in 2015, Nigerians voted for change. As the ruling party, the APC owes it a duty to deliver to the Nigeri­an people. So far, APC seems to have abandoned its cardinal duty to Nigeria. We are in a state of emergency at all levels.
“We demand the urgent re­lease of Nnamdi Kanu, and his colleagues as part of the process of engineering a new Nigeria.
“No citizen of Nigeria de­serves the treatment that is being meted to Nnamdi Kanu and his colleagues.
“Nnamdi Kanu is not above the law, and he should not be put below the law,” he said.
Utomi, who handled the question and answer session, con­demned the secret trial of Kanu, asserting that “it has no basis at all.”
He said that the group would take Kanu’s plight to the Inter­national Criminal Court (ICC) when other options have been ex­hausted and the authorities fail to yield to popular demands.
According to the professor of economics, “we will do eve­rything that is necessary, we will internationalise the issue. When you incarcerate Nnamdi Kanu, it is not he that is incarcerated but the people of conscience.”
“We want all Nigerians to get a fair share under the law. We are looking at the genuine reform of Nigeria. We will keep engaging all stakeholders at a global level. It is time we keep talking about these things,” he said.