The fact that Nnamdi Kanu, the leader of the prescribed Indigenous People of Biafra, is being held by the DSS while awaiting a court hearing is no longer a news.
Meanwhile, his detention has continued to be a source of controversies for Nigerians following the move by Igbo Elders to liaise with President Muhammadu Buhari to grant him freedom.
In an earlier report, it was gathered that a group of Igbo elders led by a first Republic Parliamentarian and Ex-Minister of Aviation, Mbazulike Amaechi, met President Buhari in Abuja where they requested the release of Mazi Nnamdi Kanu, the leader of a renowned secessionist group, IPOB.
The Igbo elders had said his release will put an end to what they referred to as a “painful and pathetic” situation in the Southeast.
But in a recent development, it has been confirmed that the elders in the North under the aegis of Northern Elders’ Forum (NEF), has kicked against any possible move to release Nnamdi Kanu from detention as they urged President Buhari not to grant the request of Igbo elders.
There are quite some reasons why the Northern elders have kicked against the release of the leader of the proscribed IPOB, below are two reasons why the elder want Buhari to jettison the plea for Kanu’s release.
Possible Reasons Why Northern Elders Kicked Against The Release Of Nnamdi Kanu
- There are no justifiable reasons to release Nnamdi Kanu: According to the Northern Elders, they believed that there is no development in place that should warrant the release of the IPOB leader as the group urged President Muhammadu Buhari not to risk his release by granting the request of the Igbo elders.
The Northern elders made it known that the case is already in the court of competent jurisdiction, so the court should be allowed to decide.
These elders sue for a fast judicial process to continue for the court to decide the fate of the IPOB leader instead of Buhari ordering his release.
This is good as saying that the northern elder wants the executive arm of the government to prevent itself from interrupting the activities of the judiciary.
- Succumbing to the request of the Igbo Elders by the President will cause injury to Nigeria’s integrity: The Forum has also explained that if the President should grant the request of the Igbo elders by releasing Nnamdi Kanu, it will result in an unnecessary injury to the integrity of the nation and may result in more security challenges.
The Northern elders made this known in a press statement signed by the Forum’s Director, Publicity and Advocacy, Dr Hakeem Baba-Ahmed, in Abuja.
The group emphatically put it that there were neither “safe, constructive nor informed grounds” for granting the request, and urged Buhari not to delay in announcing that the judicial process in the case of Nnamdi Kanu would be allowed to continue its course.
