The Concerned Igbo Ministers Commission (CIMC), led by Rev. Tony Uzor, is deeply worried and disappointed by the continued silence and inaction of most Igbo governors over the continued detention of the leader of the Indigenous People of Biafra (IPOB), Nnamdi Kanu, jailed for terrorism.

In a statement, CIMC recalled that, after the judgment of conviction delivered by Justice Omotosho, Igbo governors promised to urgently meet with President Bola Ahmed Tinubu to seek a political and humane solution to this matter.

"Till today, only one governor has kept that promise — Governor Alex Otti of Abia State. The rest have failed our people.

"This is no longer a matter of delay or logistics. It is now clear that many of these politicians are not sincere. Their repeated promises have turned into empty words," the group lamented.

CIMC said many Igbo politicians are afraid of Nnamdi Kanu's popularity, courage and the love ordinary Igbo people have for him.

According to them, they know that if Nnamdi Kanu is released, their years of betrayal, silence, and cooperation with those oppressing Igbo people will be exposed. "That is why, except for Governor Otti, they are comfortable watching an innocent man remain in detention," they said.

"These politicians know Mazi Nnamdi Kanu is innocent. They know he genuinely loves the Igbo people and was ready to die for them. They know the Eastern Security Network (ESN) was created to protect our communities when governments failed to do so.

"They also know that criminals were later sponsored and dressed up as 'agitators' to destroy the image of the struggle and blackmail the entire Igbo movement," CIMC said.

Nnamdi Kanu not behind sit-at-home order

The ministers said Nnamdi Kanu did not declare Monday sit-at-home in the Southeast, stressing that the people of the region acted on their own out of pain and frustration.

"More importantly, he tried many times to stop it.

"In 2022, when Governor Chukwuma Soludo visited Mazi Nnamdi Kanu at DSS custody, Kanu begged DSS officials to allow him speak to the people and call off sit-at-home and any form of unrest. Governor Soludo witnessed this and even joined in pleading with the DSS. The DSS refused.

"That refusal created room for criminals — some backed by government interests — to hijack the situation, create insecurity, and then turn around to blame Mazi Nnamdi Kanu for violence he never authorised.

"Even in open court, Mazi Nnamdi Kanu called for an end to sit-at-home and violence. He wrote a hand-written note warning that anyone calling for sit-at-home was not his follower.

"So how can anyone honestly claim that a man locked away in DSS custody was organising insecurity across the South-East? That claim is simply a lie," they said.

Igbo governors must stop deceiving the people

The ministers stated that the South-East Governors’ Forum has promised time without number to meet President Bola Tinubu and has failed severally.

Dishing out what they described as the hard truth, CIMC said some of these governors do not want Nnamdi Kanu to be free, believing that his freedom will end their political careers built on compromise and silence.

The Concerned Igbo Ministers Commission called on President Tinubu to intervene and end this injustice. They urged Igbo governors to either act now or stop pretending to care. They also urged Igbo people and all Nigerians to reject lies and stand for the truth.