The Igbo socio-cultural organisation, Ohanaeze Ndigbo, has repeated the call to President Muhammadu Buhari to release Nnamdi Kanu, the leader of the outlawed Indigenous People of Biafra (IPOB) who is still in the custody of the Department of State Security (DSS).
President-General of the apex Igbo organisation, Emmanuel Iwuanyanwu, disclosed this in Oguta Local Government Area, Imo State, during the flag-off ceremony of Oguta/Orashi Rivers dredging project.
Mr. Buhari was represented at the event by the Vice-President, Yemi Osinbajo, in an event aired live on Channels TV.
“Our vice-president, tell our brother and our son, Buhari, that the Ohanaeze Ndigbo, (made up of) over 60 million Igbos, requests that he should release Nnamdi Kanu,” Mr Iwuanyanwu said at the gathering.
“Igbos are not seceding (from Nigeria). I don’t see why anybody should say Igbos are seceding. Igbos are everywhere. We have investments. Are we going to leave our investments (by seceding)?” he said.
Mr Iwuanyanwu stated that he was relaying the message to Mr Buhari because the president had been granted honorary membership in the Ohanaeze and was so subject to his (Iwuanyanwu’s) authority despite being the leader of the West African country.
This is not the first time the group will be demanding the release of the leader of the proscribed Indigenous People of Biafra (IPOB).
Mr Kanu has been in the custody of Nigeria’s secret police, the Department of State Security (DSS) after he was re-arrested in Kenya and brought back to Nigeria in June 2021, about four years since he fled the country.
He is currently appealing the stay of execution ruling that prevents his release from the DSS custody.
The IPOB leader requested the Supreme Court to vacate the stay of execution decision, claiming that the Appeal Court judges violated the law by halting the implementation of their own order, which had granted him freedom.