…Says: “I will stand surety for him”
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–Pix(above, L-R): Mazi Nnamdi Kanu, Gov Chukwuma Soludo and PMB
The Anambra State Governor, Chukwuma Soludo, has pleaded with President Muhammadu Buhari’s government for the immediate and unconditional release of the leader of the Indigenous People of Biafra (IPOB), Mazi Nnamdi Kanu, to allow peace reign in the Southeast, being an integral part of the Nigerian nation.
Soludo made the plea in Awka, the state capital, during the campaign flag-off of the All Progressives Grand Alliance (APGA) on Saturday, January 14.
The State Online recalls that Kanu was arrested in June 2021 in Kenya and subsequently rendition to Nigeria over treasonable charges after escaping from the country in 2017 while on bail.
Although his lawyers made presentations that Kanu had to escape the country, to save his life pursuant to the invading soldiers at his country home, the Federal Government refused to bulge.
He had, in 2016, been remanded in prison by Justice Binta Nyako of a Federal High Court in Abuja on charges bordering on terrorism, from where the Department of State Services (DSS) sought to keep him in its Abuja headquarters custody.
Kanu approached the Appeal Court seeking to quash terrorism charges brought against him by the Federal Government.
Kanu had faulted the ruling of Justice Binta Nyako of a Federal High Court, Abuja, which ordered him to answer seven out of the 15-count terrorism charges against him. He had prayed the appellate court to quash the entire charges and set him free on far-reaching grounds of justice and fair play.
The Appeal Court sitting in Abuja in October 2022, discharged and acquitted Nnamdi Kanu on terrorism charges, but the government, however, refused to release him, claiming he still has questions to answer.
Soludo, who had earlier visited the embattled IPOB leader in detention, speaking on Saturday said: “I am making a passionate appeal to the Federal Government to release Mazi Nnamdi Kanu unconditionally. If he cannot be released unconditionally, I want him released to me, and I will stand surety for him.
“We need Nnamdi Kanu in the roundtable conversation to discuss the insecurity in the South East. We must end insecurity in the South East and we need Nnamdi Kanu to be around.
“Sometime ago, we set up the Truth and Reconciliation Committee to find out the root cause of insecurity in the South East and they have almost concluded their assignment.
“But this issue of insecurity cannot be well addressed without bringing to the table the key players in this matter.
“We have applied the kinetic and non kinetic approach to fighting insecurity in the South East, but the non kinetic approach cannot be complete without the Federal Government releasing Mazi Nnamdi Kanu.
“We must bring him to the table because we need him to be part of this process and I call on the Federal Government to release Nnamdi Kanu to me, for us to have a comprehensive discussion for the fate of the South East.
“If we cannot release him based on the court process, I hereby offer myself as the surety for his release and whenever you want him, I will hand him over to you.
“We shall provide him shelter and give him home, and we make this plea in the true belief in the spirit of peace in the South East,” Soludo said./SHARE THIS
- Tags: Gov Chukwuma Soludo, Mazi Nnamdi Kanu, IPOB, PMB