The URGENT Need For The Nigerian Federal Government To Release Nnamdi Kanu – MNK Should Not Die In Detention

URGENT Need To Release Nnamdi Kanu: The Ìgbò have a saying that “Ọ ji ònye na ana ji onwe ya”, meaning that he who holds a person to the ground also holds himself/herself to the same ground.

This saying lends credence to the fact that the oppressor himself is also not free from the conditions he has created for the oppressed.

This is the situation the Fulani-led administration of Muhammadu Buhari has created as they vindictively and unlawfully hold unto Maazi Nnamdi Kanu, a worthy Ìgbò son, and the leader of IPOB (Indigenous People Of Biafra), a body fighting for equity and justice for Ndị Ìgbò – fighting for an independent Biafran nation.

The Federal government of Nigeria, which broke international laws to kidnap and bring Nnamdi Kanu back to Nigeria, is currently standing between the devil and the deep blue sea, either intentionally or by the orchestration of forces beyond our knowledge. But one thing is sure, and that is the fact if Nnamdi Kanu dies in detention, a hornets’ nest will be opened, and out of it will emerge the most deadly and uncontrollable civil unrest West Africa will have ever witnessed.

This is not a threat. This is an observation of the body language of Mazi Nnamdi Kanu’s supporters/followers who run into tens of millions. Nnamdi Kanu is one of the most valued properties of Ndi Ìgbò, if not the most valued, in this age and time. He is currently in the same league with Odumegwu Ojukwu (whom Ndi Igbo hold so dear), and any attempt on his life is a declaration of war on Ndị Ìgbò.

Maybe the Fulani-led Federal Government wishes for that to happen so that they and their allies will commit more genocide against the Ìgbò who will rise in protest. Or maybe the Federal Government does not value/respect the Ìgbò enough to respect the court orders and release Maazi Nnamdi Kanu to us.

Whatever their reason for illegally holding him in the DSS custody is, it is important for caution and wisdom to be applied, as we are currently sitting on gunpowder, in Nigeria. Nigeria is already fighting a war in the North and is losing ground to Boko Haram and Fulani terrorists in the North. It would be most unwise for the Federal Government to turn the East into a war zone, by stubbornly persecuting Nnamdi Kanu, and creating the conditions that might lead to his death in detention.

Keeping Nnamdi Kanu in detention will not end the Biafran struggle. Rather it will ignite its embers more. More people like him will continue to rise, as long as the Igbo are oppressed in Nigeria. And one evidence of that oppression is the fact that the Federal Government’s forces have continued to kill Igbo youths in their persecution of IPOB and the Biafran agitation.

We are calling on the Federal Government to embrace dialogue in its approach to the Biafran agitation. And that dialogue should start with the unconditional release of Nnamdi Kanu, who the courts have discharged and acquitted., since October of 2022. His continuous detention in solitary confinement is against his fundamental human rights, an international law, to which Nigeria is a signatory. 

There is an urgent need for all well-meaning Ndị Ìgbò to speak up at this point, and demand Nnamdi Kanu’s release, before the worst will happen – before the gates of hell will be unleashed my angry and frustrated Ndị Ìgbò, if something happens to Nnamdi Kanu, since the DSS has decided to mishandle his health conditions.

The majority of the Ìgbò political and social elites have refused to speak up concerning the latest developments of Mazi Nnamdi Kanu’s deteriorating health in DSS custody. Maybe they wish he dies in DSS detention so that they can continue their romance with the caliphate (through the peanuts they get from Abuja). But one thing we can promise the elite, from our observations as a people-oriented platform, is that Ìgbò land will not be safe for many elites if Nnamdi Kanu died n the hands of the Fulani in the DSS.

It is either the elites speaking up now and securing Nnamdi Kanu’s release or ignorantly unlocking the next phase of the Biafran agitation, which will be an “Igbo Revolution” – the masses against the elites. And from our study of the body language of the people, it will be like non seen anywhere in the world.

Currently, the East has become unsafe for the elite and the common man, as the insecurity has heightened over the years, as a result of multiple factors. The Federal government blames the insecurity on Ndi Igbo themselves but neglects to point to its origin when the invasion by the Fulani terrorists led to the creation of the ESN by IPOB, to defend Igbo people from terrorists, which led the Nigerian army to begin the hunt for ESN and killing of Igbo youths, and then the emergence of “Unknown Gunmen” and criminal gangs.

Many of the elites have fled Igbo land and no more returned home. They believe that Nnamdi Kanu is the cause of the insecurity in the East, and maybe his death will bring calm to the region. But they are wrong. The political elite themselves are the cause of the problem as they have continuously refused to stand up and speak for the marginalized people of the East. And if they continue in their silence, and allow Nnamdi Kanu to die in detention, then it is most obvious that the people will turn on the elites, and the East will become more unsafe for them and their children.

This article is a cry in the wilderness – a cry for caution and wisdom to be applied by the powers that be. For if their carelessness leads Nigeria to another full-blown civil war, it will be a deadly one with casualties from every corner. Let no one think that the continuous suppression of Ndi Igbo and their voices are a win for the Nigerian Federal Government and those who run it. No. The continuous killing and suppression of the genuine complaints of Ndi Igbo if not handled with dialogue and intelligently will destabilize this region of Africa, for many years, and not just Igbo land.

We, therefore, call on the Federal Government of Nigeria to let Nnamdi Kanu go so that peace can return to the East. His freedom will prove beyond a doubt that the chaos in the East is not the work of IPOB, but that of criminal elements and state actors (who want to Paint the East to be a terrorist-producing region). His freedom will expose those who have been benefiting from the chaos in the East. His release from the DSS solitary confinement will calm the nerves of angry Ndi Igbo, the majority of who feel their air and breath have been taken away by the Buhari-led administration.  

This Article Was Written By Chuka Nduneseokwu, Editor-In-Chief, Voice Of The Sun

Please Support and DONATE To Us. Help Us In Preserving Our History, Culture and Beliefs as Ndi Igbo. CLICK HERE to assist us financially.