Final week, Senator Eyinanya Abaribe restated his provide to face as surety for the discharge of the chief of the Indigenous Folks of Biafra (IPOB), Mazi Nnamdi Kanu. Not lengthy after in the identical week, Senator John Azuta-Mbata was elected because the President of Ohaneze Ndigbo. Nonetheless in the identical week, the Governor of Ondo State, Mr. Fortunate Orimisan Aiyedatiwa, pardoned 60 prisoners as a part of his sixtieth birthday anniversary. Among the prisoners acquired their sentences commuted from loss of life to life imprisonment. Undoubtedly, the key process earlier than Ohaneze presently is to safe the discharge of Kanu, by all means obligatory.
Kanu grew to become referred to as a British political activist advocating for the secession and independence of Biafra from Nigeria. He’s the chief of IPOB, which he based in 2012. The primary intention of IPOB is to revive the defunct separatist state of Biafra which existed in Nigeria’s Japanese Area throughout the civil warfare of 1967-1970. In no unsure phrases, Kanu propagates Biafran separatism. He’s very fashionable amongst the Igbos, particularly these inside the center class.
In his area in Nigeria, Kanu was extra of a tin god who commanded the respect and loyalty of the populace and his phrases grew to become regulation. He had a big following and was very efficient in organising the folks for the actualisation of the Biafra agenda. In the middle of time, Kanu established the armed wing of Biafra, the Japanese Safety Community, by which he was recruiting and coaching youths for the Biafra mandate. There have been reported excesses inside the fold of ESN, leading to avoidable deaths, financial losses and certainly a complete deviation from the lofty beliefs behind the formation of IPOB. However this isn’t restricted to Kanu as different areas of Nigeria have produced separatists too. Someday in or about October 18, 2015, it was reported that Kanu had been arrested in Lagos State by Nigeria’s secret police, the Division of State Providers, DSS. He was finally transferred to Abuja, resulting in protests throughout many states of the South East. He was initially arraigned earlier than the Abuja Justice of the Peace Court docket, which launched him on ‘bail’. Kanu was later arraigned earlier than the Federal Excessive Court docket, Abuja, the place he was granted bail on well being grounds.
What adopted thereafter grew to become as controversial because the IPOB chief himself. Kanu disappeared from public view after his dwelling was raided by the Nigerian army in September 2017, an occasion which led to the loss of life of many IPOB members. In December 2020, Kanu introduced that IPOB had organised the ESN which was imagined to defend southeastern Nigerians from bandits and armed Fulani herders. Kanu later gave all of the governors of South-East 14 days to ban open-grazing, threatening to deploy ESN to implement the ban if the authorities didn’t accomplish that. This led to open confrontation with the Nigerian army, which commenced indiscriminate however unlawful manhunt for IPOB and ESN activists.
Regardless of this, Kanu maintained that IPOB was concerned with a non-violent answer of the battle and that ESN was imagined to battle bandits, not the Nigerian safety forces. Regardless, Nigerian authorities designated IPOB as a terrorist organisation and claimed that Kanu was inciting violence. I joined different Nigerians to denounce the tag on IPOB on condition that different ethnic nationalities had their respective organisations similar to Miyetti Allah, the Yoruba Nation, Ijaw Nationwide Congress, and so on.
In June 2016, I filed a case on the Federal Excessive Court docket, Lagos, in Go well with No. FHC/L/CS/775/2016, towards President Muhammadu Buhari, the Lawyer-Common of the Federation, the Inspector-Common of Police, the Chief of Military Workers, the Chief of Naval Workers and the Chief of Air Workers, searching for amongst others, the discharge of IPOB members and for a declaration that pro-Biafran protesters are entitled to assemble collectively in any a part of the nation, for the aim of demanding for self-determination. I additionally prayed the courtroom to carry that the police, the military and different safety businesses usually are not entitled to invade the gathering of pro-Biafran protesters, or to shoot at them or to arrest and detain them.
The rationale for the go well with and the purpose for the help for IPOB then was that in as far as the agitation for Biafra meant an finish to the marginalisation of the South-East, in as far as IPOB stood for a requirement for inclusive governance and fairness within the creation of states in Nigeria, that they had my help and I dare say that of many Nigerians. Nevertheless, when such activism graduates to secession, killing of individuals and the overall paralysis of the financial system, it should solely obtain condemnation. On June 27, 2021, Kanu was arrested in Kenya by Interpol and extradited to Nigeria to face his trial for alleged terrorism, treason, involvement with banned separatist motion, inciting public violence by radio broadcasts and defamation of Nigerian authorities. Kanu challenged his trial but it surely was finally upheld by the Supreme Court docket. I see Kanu’s trial as purely political, given the preliminary lofty targets that birthed IPOB as a motion. Maybe as a result of inexperience and lack of correct coordination, Kanu couldn’t maintain the momentum of that wrestle. IPOB grew to become a risk to the political gladiators within the South-East and if he had continued in the best way he was rallying the youths, he would have taken over the federal government of the South-East states.
I typically imagine that leaders of the area ought to take accountability for the destiny of Kanu. Initially when Sunday Igboho and others began the Yoruba Nation agenda, folks thought it was a noble initiative, as long as it remained peaceable and law-abiding. However as soon as it grew to become obvious that it was translating right into a separatist motion, distinguished leaders inside the South-West rose in condemnation of such an agenda and when it grew to become essential to tame the monster, the related authorities moved swiftly to nip it within the bud.
The opposite facet of the Kanu agenda is failure of governance. Till the reign of Dave Umahi in Ebonyi State and these days Dr Alex Otti in Abia State, South-East Nigeria has not witnessed commensurate growth from the governors. And aside from the trumpeted second Niger-Bridge, the federal authorities itself has not stamped its presence within the area, within the space of infrastructure and common growth. So IPOB grew to refill the vacuum created by non-performance by the South-East governors and the deliberate marginalisation of the Igbos by the federal authorities.
That mentioned, each political agitation requires a political answer. The folks of the South-West loved the help of Nigerians towards the annulment of the June 12 election, resulting in mass protests and peaceable agitations for a few years. This is able to result in some sort of concession inside the political class in 1998 when Nigerians unanimously zoned the presidency to the South-West, resulting in the emergence of Common Olusegun Obasanjo.
The folks of the South-South area took their very own agitation to the creeks. They disrupted oil manufacturing and rendered the area typically unsafe for international buyers, resulting in the relocation of main oil corporations from that area. I imagine that their agitation led to the selection of Dr. Goodluck Jonathan because the Vice President and finally as President of Nigeria.
As acknowledged earlier, I solely help the peaceable agitations of pro-Biafra activists towards marginalisation and can proceed to distance myself from any transformation right into a separatist and armed group. Take it or depart it, the Kanu phenomenon will proceed to hang-out the Nigerian state, if solely as a reminder of the wanton neglect of and injustices towards the South-East, all of which should be addressed holistically.
A part of the problems will end in questions similar to: Why can’t we have now an Igbo President? Why can’t we have now an Igbo IGP or Chief of Military Workers? Why ought to the South-East not take pleasure in a further state as the opposite geo-political zones which all have six states? However the excesses of Kanu and IPOB, these to me symbolize the pro-Biafra struggles. Are the Igbos a part of Nigeria? Is the civil warfare actually over or is Nigeria nonetheless punishing the Igbos for the warfare? Or what on earth is the explanation for the exclusion of the Igbos from mainstream governance? What precisely is the worry of the opposite areas for dreading the Igbo President? This is the reason Kanu’s case turns into political, as a result of even in case you jail Kanu at the moment, the marginalisation of the Igbos will maintain staring Nigeria in its face, daily.
When Gani Adams was arrested, Chief Gani Fawehinmi, SAN, stood agency for him all by his trial. When Sunday Igboho confronted his ordeal, Professor Wole Soyinka, Chief Yomi Aliyu, SAN, and others rose in defence of his basic rights, whereas condemning his legal tendencies. I urge all Nigerians to unite for Kanu’s freedom however extra notably, the folks of the South-East should communicate with one voice to safe Kanu’s launch.
The federal authorities has nothing to revenue from a protracted trial of Kanu past isolating itself from the Igbos. If the legal cost towards the chief of Miyetti Allah may very well be withdrawn, if Sunday Igboho is at the moment a free man, then there may be nothing so particular about Kanu’s trial, past a carryover of the civil warfare. I advocate for a discontinuance of his trial and his eventual launch. However the matter doesn’t finish there.
Since their launch, I’ve not heard of Miyetti Allah or Yoruba Nation in the identical aggression and militancy that heralded their misadventures. The selection belongs to Kanu, to resolve on the destiny of IPOB. Whether it is to proceed with armed resistance, killing of safety brokers and the overall paralysis of the financial system of that area, we can’t shut our eyes to the present legal guidelines towards these acts. The South-East governors, legislators and leaders of thought ought to first meet with Kanu and safe his co-operation for his freedom. Over to the brand new management of Ohaneze.Adegboruwa is a Senior Advocate of Nigeria (SAN).
