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Release Nnamdi Kanu, He’s Prisoner Of Conscience –IPOB Tells Nigerian Govt

Published

2 months ago

Oct 17, 2024.

Ochefu Owoicho

The Indigenous People of Biafra (IPOB) has declared that its detained leader, Mazi Nnamdi Kanu, is a prisoner of conscience in Nigerian custody and should be released immediately.

IPOB said Kanu remains in detention because he has refused to compromise his stance on the Biafran cause.

This is contained in a statement by the group’s Media and Publicity Secretary, Comrade Emma Powerful.

It accused the Nigerian government of orchestrating Kanu’s extraordinary rendition from Kenya to Nigeria in June 2021, where he has since been held in solitary confinement, despite favorable court rulings.

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“Nigeria is illegally detaining him while attempting to dismantle IPOB. However, the unshakeable ideology of restoring Biafra continues to drive IPOB forward in its quest for a sovereign nation,” the statement read.

The group urged Ndigbo worldwide to continue advocating for the unconditional release of Kanu, emphasizing that his call for self-determination is lawful under the United Nations Convention on Civil and Political Rights for Indigenous Peoples.

“Moreover, Mazi Nnamdi Kanu has remained steadfast and true to his people, even after nearly four years of illegal detention by the Nigerian government in the DSS dungeon.”

IPOB highlighted the 2022 judgment of the Nigerian Court of Appeal in Abuja, which discharged and acquitted Kanu, as well as the UN Committee on Arbitrary Detention’s condemnation of his abduction, rendition, and continued detention. Despite these rulings, IPOB noted, the Nigerian government has disregarded the legal and international resolutions.

“The Nigerian government knows that Mazi Nnamdi Kanu committed no crime, locally or internationally. His persecution is simply an expression of ethnic hatred against Ndigbo,” IPOB asserted.

The group warned that Kanu is being persecuted, not prosecuted, and that the Nigerian government’s actions have only strengthened IPOB’s resolve. They called on the international community to condemn the ongoing persecution and human rights violations against Kanu and Ndigbo at large.

“The Nigerian government should know that IPOB cannot be destroyed or intimidated into abandoning the struggle for Biafra. The continued persecution of Mazi Nnamdi Kanu will further expose the mockery of democracy in Nigeria,” IPOB added.

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The group also linked the country’s current economic and security challenges to the injustice against Ndigbo, as exemplified in Kanu’s treatment, warning that these issues will persist until the injustice is addressed.

“IPOB and Mazi Nnamdi Kanu remain committed to our demand for a referendum. We will not be intimidated into submission by the tyranny of the Nigerian government. Biafra will come, but the wounds of the persecution against Ndigbo will take decades to heal,” the statement concluded.

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