The detained leader of the Indigenous People of Biafra (IPOB), Nnamdi Kanu, has made it clear that he did not authorize anyone to plead with the Nigerian government for his release.
This clarification was issued in a statement by the head of his legal team, Aloy Ejimakor, Esq, emphasizing that Kanu’s release is not a matter of mercy or pardon but rather a legal obligation based on the rule of law.
Recall that Benjamin Kalu, the Deputy Speaker of the House of Representatives, recently urged Bola Tinubu to show leniency and grant Kanu his freedom.
Kalu made this appeal following the inaugural meeting of the House of Representatives committee on the South-East Development Commission (SEDC) at the National Assembly complex in Abuja.
He also praised Tinubu for his dedication to promoting peace, development, and stability in the South-East, highlighting his swift approval of the South-East Development Commission Bill, which had previously failed to pass in past legislative sessions.
However, Kanu’s legal team reaffirmed that the Federal High Court had already ruled his detention unconstitutional, and international tribunals had also declared it unlawful.
Therefore, his release should not be a matter of negotiation but a direct compliance with legal rulings.
The IPOB leader further stated that he had committed no crime and insisted that his detention was simply an attempt by the Nigerian government to criminalize his right to self-determination.
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His lawyer wrote: “During my visitation with Onyendu Mazi Nnamdi Kanu yesterday, he made it abundantly clear that while he is deeply appreciative of the efforts and the widespread calls being made by well-meaning individuals and groups to secure his release, he however instructed his legal team to issue the following clarifications:
“1. The matter of releasing Mazi Nnamdi Kanu is not an act of mercy, pardon, executive clemency or even amnesty. Instead, it should be an act of simply complying with the subsisting Federal High Court judgment that declared his detention as unconstitutional or even the extant international tribunal decisions that separately declared his detention as unlawful. Alternatively, the decision to free him from detention and discontinue his infamous prosecution can be made by simply resorting to the constitutional provisions that empower the Attorney-General of the Federation (on the directives of the President) to discontinue any prosecution.
“2, Onyendu Mazi Nnamdi Kanu is adamant that nobody should plead or beg anybody on his behalf because he has committed no crime. Self-determination which is the real issue that got twisted to suddenly become a high crime is an inalienable right guaranteed under the laws of Nigeria, the United Nations, the United Kingdom and Kenya. Thus, the perverse and unlawful criminalisation of his exercise of this right should not unwittingly be encouraged through some misguided appeals for pardon, clemency or mercy. Thus, releasing Mazi Nnamdi Kanu is not an act of mercy or pardon but an act of abiding by rule of law.
“3. In as much as those calling for his release are sincere, their calls for pardon or clemency may be misconstrued as a green light to the executive branch or even the courts to violate the rule of law by continuing to subject Mazi Nnamdi Kanu to a prosecution or trial that does not comport with the tenets of the Constitution and Nigeria’s treaty obligations.
“4. Instead of begging, those desiring his release should emulate the language and tact used by Afenifere, Ohaneze, World Igbo Congress (WIC), ranking members of the National Assembly, American Military Veterans of Igbo Descent (AVID), Ambassadors for Self Determination (based in America),
The international community and a host of others who have made it clear that Mazi Nnamdi Kanu deserves to be released because he has committed no offence known to law. If truth be told, it is Nigeria’s executive branch which extraordinarily renditioned Mazi Nnamdi Kanu that should show contrition for resorting to extraordinary rendition which is a State crime under international law and and the common law. If any begging must be done, it should be directed to the Courts to conduct his cases and that of IPOB with the utmost impartiality and adherence to rule of law, equity and good conscience.
“5. Most importantly, Onyendu Mazi Nnamdi Kanu sincerely thanks everyone working assiduously towards the restoration of security, tranquility and good order in his beloved Igboland.”
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