The Igbo Ekunie Initiative (IEI) called on the federal government on Friday to release Mazi Nnamdi Kanu, the Indigenous People of Biafra’s leader, in order to heal ‘Nigeria’s nagging wounds.’
The organisation also voiced worries about Mazi Nnamdi Kanu’s rendition in Kenya and subsequent repatriation to Nigeria without ‘prompt trial’ in a statement signed by its president, Chief Chigbo Uzokwelu, and secretary, Engr John Asiegbu.
The release of Mazi Kanu, as well as the subsequent reconciliatory conversation, will ‘heal the scars of perceived marginalization and give a sense of belonging to all Nigerians,’ according to the IEI, a group of individuals from Nigeria and the diaspora.
The statement read in part, “We have considered the unabating ethnic divisions, proliferation of self-determination groups and raging insecurity across Nigeria at alarming levels never seen since the Nigerian-Biafran civil war.
“We remind the federal government that as long as Nigeria remains a constitutional democracy, the kidnapping of Mazi Nnamdi Kanu, the continued refusal to bring him to court and the denial of all due process of law are a flagrant breach of Nnamdi Kanu’s fundamental rights.
“That the long struggle for democracy was to bequeath us with constitutional rights that must be held sacred at all times. Any violation of these rights is not only unconstitutional, but also betrays the sacrifices of those who gave their lives in the struggle for democracy.
“That the struggle for self-determination on the face of it breaks no known laws within the ambit of the constitution or international law as the rights of indigenous peoples and corresponding rights to self-determination are guaranteed by the United Nations Charter, The African Charter on Human and Peoples’ Rights.
“That the core essence of democracy is its fundamental premise on citizens’ participation through dialogues, negotiations, elections, consultations and overall peaceful mechanisms for addressing dissent, grievances, conflicts and the rule of law.”
It recalled that the federal government ‘frequently negotiated with Boko Haram terrorists and released their adherents despite being responsible for almost 400,000 deaths and more than three million internally-displaced persons in Nigeria’.
It was disappointed that the federal government would release Boko Haram terrorists but “overlook herdsmen and bandits who have downed military planes and continue to maim and kill thousands across the country”; and that the government would jail “IPOB members rather than negotiate with them.”
According to the group, “There is no legitimate or moral reason to continue to hold Mazi Kanu in detention. We recommend the prompt establishment of a high-powered committee to negotiate with Mazi Kanu in view of reaching practical resolutions that will address outstanding issues in the short and long term.
“Too much blood has been shed and too much repression visited on the citizenry in post-colonial Nigeria. This is an aberration that defeats the very purpose for which we sought and gained independence.”
It urged President Buhari ‘to be mindful of his legacy and to reverse the trend of bloodshed and repression by negotiating with Mazi Kanu and facilitating his release for the ultimate good of the country’.
