A former Secretary-General of Ohanaeze Ndigbo Worldwide, Dim Uchechukwu Nnam Okwukwu, has called on President Bola Tinubu to release the detained leader of the Indigenous People of Biafra (IPOB), Nnamdi Kanu, if he wants peace to return to the South-East.
Okwukwu who made the call in an open letter to Tinubu on Monday, said instead of deploying security apparatus in the South-East, the president should use such resources to fight bandits and terrorists in the North.
Okwukwu stated that he had noticed one constant factor that would help Tinubu in no small measure in ensuring the success of his government and a historic tenure and the factor is to release Kanu.
“That one factor is the matter of Mazi Nnamdi Kanu, whose continued detention is undoubtedly convulsing the Southeast, in particular and the Nigerian polity, in general,” the letter reads.
“Mr. President, I am aware that Mazi Nnamdi Kanu’s matter is still pending trial in court. But the question is this: Is trial the only way forward in resolving his matter? With due respect, I do not think so,” he continued, adding that Kanu’s matter was beyond the province of the courts because it was more of a political issue than a legal issue for the judiciary.
“As such, it lies within the executive prerogatives of the office of the President to exercise sound presidential discretion in bringing immediate closure to the matter, once and for all.
“Your Excellency, the release of Mazi Nnamdi Kanu bears more advantages than disadvantages, some of which are: peace and tranquility will return to Southeast and the law enforcement resources of the nation currently deployed to Southeast will be freed and redeployed to fight more serious crimes like banditry and terrorism in Northern Nigeria.
“For above reasons, I strongly and respectfully urge Your Excellency to, without further ado, direct that Mazi Nnamdi Kanu be released unconditionally or under some other arrangements Your Excellency may deem proper and fit in the circumstances of the matter,” he added.
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