As the Federal Government continues to weigh the pros and cons of releasing the detained leader of the Independent People of Biafra, Nnamdi Kanu, it has been urged to properly ensure that the separatist leader does not become “incontrollable” if he breathes the air of freedom.
Kanu, a Nigerian-British political activist famous for advocating for the secession and independence of Biafra from Nigeria, has been incarcerated since June 2021 when he was arrested in Kenya and later whisked off from there to Nigeria to face the law for his alleged crimes.
Before he was arrested in 2021 by the then administration of Muhammadu Buhari, however, Kanu had given the administration of former President Goodluck Jonathan countless sleepless nights.
Kanu formed IPOB in 2012 during the heyday of the Jonathan government and the movement has since then refused to be squashed by successive governments, even though it was designated as a terrorist’s organisation in 2017 by immediate past President, Muhammadu Buhari’s government.
Then again, as far back as from 2009, Kanu had used his infamous Radio Biafra, a United Kingdom-registered radio station which airs from London, for Biafran propaganda and to also discredit the Nigerian state.
So, by the time Jonathan’s successor, Buhari, took office in 2015, Kanu was already on the most wanted persons’ list, and the then government left no stone unturned as it orchestrated a plan to arrest him.
“Immediately Kanu is out, he will start disturbing the peace in the South East. He cannot be contained. He doesn’t have respect, either. Remember that he referred to Buhari as Jubril from Sudan”
Kanu breezed into Lagos, Nigeria, on October 14, 2015, and was arrested in his hotel room for offences bordering on sedition, ethnic incitement and treasonable felony.
And perhaps, out of the sheer relief that he had finally been nabbed, some Nigerians had at the time praised Buhari for being a nonsense leader who would not tolerate Kanu’s excesses.
However, after an almost endless legal back-and-forth between Kanu and Nigeria’s secret police, the Department of State Service, who preferred that Kanu was incarcerated in their cells, the IPOB leader was in 2017 released from prison on bail for health reasons.
But because the court did not issue a gag order or prevent him from challenging the status quo, Kanu quickly re-launched his activism after he moved to the South East. And then there, he became a larger than life personality who would even have some of his kinsmen bow to him in obeisance.
Kanu also renewed his agitation for Biafran independence and in September 2017, because of his overbearing influence in the South East, the government promptly sent soldiers to raid his family home in Abia State.
The soldiers were resisted by Kanu’s supporters and by the time the sound of gunfire subsided, more than two dozen IPOB members lost their lives in the skirmish.
Kanu escaped to the United Kingdom, ostensibly to save his own life, and the court revoked his bail and then issued a bench warrant for his arrest after the court proceedings continued without him. Kanu was not deterred.
And right there overseas, he became more vocal against the government. He even accused Buhari of shielding armed Fulani herdsmen who were not only allowing their cattle to trample all over farmers’ crops but also killing farmers and burning down whole communities
In December 2020, Kanu established the Eastern Security Network, as an antidote to the poisonous activities of the herdsmen, but the members of the ESN were soon accused by ordinary southeasterners of abusing their so-called powers.
Thus, not too long after, the ESN found itself exchanging fire with the Nigerian army. Obviously, allowing an unconstitutional security outfit, such as the ESN, to run amok on the streets and in the forests was something the military did not take lightly.
Finally, in June 2021, while he was in Kenya, Kanu would once again be arrested and brought to Nigeria. He has not been let go since then.
After Nigeria’s President, Bola Tinubu, was sworn-in May last year, there was hope that the former Lagos State Governor would release Kanu.
Many influential Southeasterners and even the governors from the region, including Nigerians from other regions, have also continued to plead with the President to release Kanu unconditionally.
But the request has not yet been granted.
And so far, some groups, like the Arewa Youths Consultative Forum, have consistently reminded the President that releasing Kanu would be dangerous for Nigeria.
In May this year, Kanu was denied bail by the court because he jumped bail in 2017. Despite this setback, there has been mounting pressure on Tinubu’s government to release Kanu.
A senior lawyer, Fred Aigbadumah, who was asked whether it would be a good idea if the Federal Government releases Kanu now said, “That issue is as sensitive as it is dicey – to the extent that even the Federal Government is confused on exactly what is happening.
“If the Federal Government is really sincere, genuine and concerned about total reconciliation, there shouldn’t be anything that stops them from releasing Kanu, so that we can go back to the negotiation table.
“Remember that Sunday Igboho is back in the country as a free man. The way Kanu is agitating is the way he is agitating, and Kanu’s agitation did not even start with Buhari, but it came to its height during Buhari’s regime.
“And now that Buhari is out of office and some people are enjoying the air of freedom, Kanu, too, should be freed. And like the common saying, what is good for the goose should be considered good for the gander.
“People like Sowore, the charges against him have been quashed. He has been discharged even though he has not been acquitted of the charges against him for declaring that there should be revolution.
“All those were during Buhari’s regime. So, to me, at least they should test it (releasing Kanu). But I guess that they are afraid of what the outcome or the consequences of such a moratorium will be.”
On the comparison with Igboho, Aigbadumah was told that there are some Nigerians who insist that Igboho has never ordered his followers to kill security agents, whereas Kanu did.
Aigbadumah disagreed with the claim. He challenged those with proof of the allegation to bring the same forward.
He also said that the question about whether the President would stand to gain politically from Kanu’s release was “somehow”.
According to him, it is not the gain of the President as a person that matters but the nation at large.
He said that Tinubu is the father of the nation and has to “juxtapose interests in the interest of peace”.
Aigbadumah also disagreed with those who say that the South East would erupt if Kanu was released. He said there was no harm in trying.
Reminded that Kanu once jumped bail, he said, “It is not that Kanu jumped bail. He said that his life was at stake, and you know that the first rule of survival is self-defence. But legalistically, you will see that (his escape) as jumping bail.
A Lagos-based political analyst, Cosmas Iwuji, however disagreed with Aigbadumah’s position.
He said there is no wisdom in releasing Kanu now.
He also noted that the government should not fall for Kanu’s seemingly “repentant” posture in court, arguing that it is a facade meant to deceive Nigerians.
“There is no wisdom in releasing Kanu now. Anyone who does that now will soon discover its folly.
“Immediately Kanu is out, he will start disturbing the peace in the South East. He cannot be contained. He doesn’t have respect, either. Remember that he referred to Buhari as Jubril from Sudan.
“When he is out, he might designate Tinubu as Musa from Mali. He cannot be trusted.
“Left for me, I will say that if the Presidency must release him, they should try to get the necessary concessions from him. Every realistic agreement must be signed, sealed and delivered. We don’t want to hear anything less than that.
“And don’t be fooled by the emergency patriotism he is exhibiting in court. It is all a facade meant to deceive Nigerians. We won’t be fooled again.”