Demand For Kanu’s Release Has Become Pan-Nigerian – Ejimakor

As the demand for the release of Mazi Nnamdi Kanu gathers momentum, the federal government has been reminded that Kanu’s release is among the demands of #EndBadGovernanceInNigeria protests which were held from August 1 to 10.

Kanu is the leader of the Indigenous People of Biafra, which is championing the secession of Southeast Nigeria.

He has been detained at the custody of the Department of State Services since August, 2021 after being renditioned from Kenya to Nigeria by Nigeria’s security forces in collaboration with their Kenyan counterparts.

Kanu’s lead counsel, Barr Aloy Ejimakor, via his X on Tuesday, urged President Bola Tinubu to factor the demands of the protesters, including Kanu’s freedom, as Nigeria marks her 64th Independence celebration.

According to Ejimakor, “Lest we forget, the release of Mazi Nnamdi Kanu is No. 5 amongst the demands being made in the #EndBadGovernanceInNigeria protests. That makes #FreeMNK a pan-Nigerian issue, not just an Igbo issue. This should be reckoned with.”

Kanu had during the last hearing of his case at the Federal High Court, Abuja, asked the trial judge, Justice Binta Nyako, to recuse herself, citing his lack of confidence in her. The justice had obliged Kanu, and said she would send Kanu’s case file to the Federal Ministry of Justice for re-assigning.

Recall that the #EndBadGovernanceInNigeria protests took place mainly in the Northern and Western parts of Nigeria with a majority of those demanding Kanu’s release being non-Igbos, hence the pan-Nigerian perspectives of Kanu ‘s release demand.

Ejimakor had earlier stated that, “Freeing Nnamdi Kanu lies with the President. The truth is that his matter is a ‘self-determination’ issue, which is within the purview of the President/AGF. You should not try anybody in court for wanting a separate nation.

“That is how Nigeria was founded in 1960. That was how the Midwest region was created in 1963. That is how Nigeria lost Southern Cameroon to Cameroon.

It is either called a referendum or plebiscite, and that is how Nigeria got Adamawa, the former Southern Cameroon, into Northern Nigeria.”