The lawmaker representing Ikwuano/Umuahia North/Umuahia South Federal Constituency in Abia State, Obi Aguocha, has sought the intervention of former President Muhammadu Buhari to secure the release of the detained leader of the Indigenous People of Biafra, Nnamdi Kanu.
Kanu was arrested in Kenya and repatriated to Nigeria in July 2021, after he fled the country in the wake of the military raid on his home during the tenure of Buhari.
He has remained in detention since then, facing many charges, including treason.
Aguocha, as part of efforts to commence a dialogue for the political solution to the release of the IPOB leader, visited Buhari in his Daura country home on Saturday.
The PUNCH reported on June 19 that Kanu, in a viral video clip, against his former posture, denounced the killings in the South-East over IPOB’s agitation for secession and appealed for an out-of-court settlement in his ongoing treason trial by the Federal Government.
In a conversation with his lawyers, who pointed out to him that he needed to speak up to stop the killings, Kanu said, “I condemn any manner of killing. Every manner of killing, I condemn in its entirety.
“I want people to understand that IPOB was founded on a non-violent principle and we maintain that up till this very day. Some of these soldiers, we’re told, are also our people. And the families are now in mourning. All the making of young widows is condemned in its entirety. I don’t want it, I don’t want anybody to die.
“We are fighting for freedom, then how can we fight death at the same time? It’s not possible; we want people to be free. That’s all we’re fighting for, nothing more.”
A statement issued on Sunday by Aguocha’s media team quoted the federal lawmaker as telling Buhari, “For the missteps, utterances, and ill gestures of the past, especially on the part of my constituent and brother, Nnamdi Kanu, I am deeply sorry.”Related News
Aguocha further expressed his belief that a political solution would not only address the grievances of parties on all sides but promote greater understanding and unity within the country.
The PUNCH reported that Buhari, while President ruled out a political solution to Kanu’s case, insisting that he must defend himself in court.
Speaking in an interview with Channels TV in 2022, Buhari had said he would not interfere with the judiciary.
“There is one institution that I wouldn’t interfere with, that is the judiciary, Kanu’s case is with the judiciary but what I wonder is when Kanu was safely in Europe, abusing this administration and mentioning too many things, I thought he wants to come and defend himself on the accusations.
“So, we are giving him an opportunity to defend himself in our system, not to be abusing us from Europe as if he was not a Nigerian. Let him come here with us and then criticise us here. Nigerians know that I don’t interfere with the judiciary, let him be listened to. But those who are saying that he should be released, no, we cannot release him.”
However, the Sunday statement by Aguocha’s media office quoted Buhari as commending the lawmaker for his humility and dedication to the cause of his people.
“This meeting (with Buhari) is part of a broad-based initiative aimed at securing a speedy political resolution of the issues surrounding Nnamdi Kanu’s detention and trial, and securing his subsequent release in the spirit of engendering dialogue and non-contentious approaches to resolving thorny national issues, in the understanding that Mazi Nnamdi Kanu is willing, ready and able to embrace the new dynamic in joining hands across the country in building a new Nigeria where peace, equity, justice and prosperity shall reign,” the statement further read.
Aguocha recently led 50 members of the House of Representatives drawn from across the six geopolitical zones to sign a letter appealing to President Bola Tinubu to direct the Minister of Justice and Attorney-General of the Federation, Lateef Fegbemi, to invoke Section 174(1)(c) of the 1999 Constitution as amended and Section 107 of the Administration of Criminal Justice Act, 2015, in setting the pathway to reaching the desired outcome.
