It'll be black Christmas in the S’East if Kanu isn't released - Tinubu told

The apex socio-political group, Ohanaeze Ndigbo has the Federal Government to release Nnamdi Kanu, leader of the Indigenous People of Biafra (IPOB) as a Christmas present to the South-East region.

The call was made by Vice-President, Ohanaeze Ndigbo Worldwide, Chief Damian Okeke-Ogene in an interview with The Punch newspaper.

He said the continuous detention of Kanu meant the hope of the people in the South-East had been dashed this Christmas.

The call by Ohanaeze comes ahead of the December 15, 2023, Supreme Court judgment in the Federal Government’s case against Kanu.

Okeke-Ogene dismissed as unfounded claims that prominent Igbo people, including governors of the region, were behind Kanu’s continued detention.

He said, “We don’t want to dwell much on the politics about the release of Kanu. If he is released on December 15, it is long overdue because competent courts of jurisdiction have on two occasions found him not guilty and also released him, but till now, nothing was done about it.

“So, we hope that the Supreme Court will equally do justice to it with the expectation that every Igbo man is expecting that President Bola Tinubu should know that the money and lives being wasted on the issue are not worth it. And he should, therefore, set the man free as a Christmas gift to the South-East if he truly wants peace to return to the region.

“The President should emulate former Presidents Umaru Yar’Adua and Goodluck Jonathan, who used the carrot and stick approach to stop the issue of militancy in the Niger Delta region. The average Igbo person is also facing the same situation.

“Kanu should be a free man from December 15 and anything short of that has dashed the hope of the whole of the people of South-East this Christmas. If he is not released, it will be a black Christmas in the region.

“We are not in the position to pre-empt the court but for now, we are looking up to the Supreme Court, if it is a country where the judiciary works, we don’t have to be afraid that the Federal Government would influence the judgment.”

NBA