Nnamdi Kanu, the leader of the Indigenous People of Biafra (IPOB), on Wednesday, condemned the ongoing violence in the South-East associated with the group’s push for secession. He also appealed for an out-of-court resolution of his ongoing treason trial by the Federal Government.
Kanu, detained since 2021 after his re-arrest in Kenya and subsequent repatriation to Nigeria, made his appeal during the continuation of his trial at the Federal High Court in Abuja. In a viral video clip, he explicitly denounced the killings in the South-East, emphasising that IPOB was founded on non-violent principles.
In a conversation with his lawyers, Kanu said, “I condemn any manner of killing. Every manner of killing, I condemn in its entirety. I want people to understand that IPOB was founded on a non-violent principle and we maintain that up till this very day. Some of these soldiers, we’re told, are also our people. And the families are now in mourning. All the making of young widows is condemned in its entirety. I don’t want it, I don’t want anybody to die. We are fighting for freedom, then how can we fight death at the same time? It’s not possible; we want people to be free. That’s all we’re fighting for, nothing more.”
However, the Federal Government’s lawyer, Awomolo, stated that it was not within his remit to seek an out-of-court settlement. He advised Kanu’s legal team to approach the Attorney General of the Federation (AGF), as the power to negotiate resides with him. “I told him to go to the Attorney-General of the Federation, who has the power. If he is interested in negotiating he should go there, his office is just here,” Awomolo said.
Justice Nyako, responding to the proposal, stated that the court had no objection to an out-of-court settlement but advised Kanu to approach the AGF to explore this possibility. She ordered the Department of State Services (DSS) to provide an “unbugged space” for Kanu to meet with his lawyers each time they visited the facility, explaining that this should be somewhere outside the DSS building, such as a garden within the DSS premises, where Kanu and his lawyers could discuss matters privately.
Regarding Forms 48 and 49, which seek the imprisonment of the DSS Director General for alleged contempt, Justice Nyako noted that these applications were not currently before her. She assured that these matters would be addressed when the relevant file came before her.
Kanu also submitted a fresh application before the court, seeking the dismissal of the charges against him on constitutional grounds. He argued that the prosecution failed to specify the exact location where he made the alleged offensive broadcast. His counsel, Ejimakor, contended that the court lacked jurisdiction since the prosecution did not indicate whether the alleged broadcast was a punishable offence in Kenya or Britain, the two countries Kanu had been in before his re-arrest.
However, Justice Nyako dismissed Kanu’s application, stating that the court could not overrule itself on previously resolved issues. She advised that the only option left for the applicant was to proceed on appeal. The court ordered the prosecution to file and serve its proof of evidence on the defendant while the defendant prepared his defence for the next adjourned date, set for September 24.
Meanwhile, the apex Igbo socio-political group, Ohanaeze Ndigbo, welcomed Kanu’s proposal for an out-of-court settlement. The group also praised Kanu for calling for an end to violence and insecurity in the South-East. Speaking in Anambra, Chief Vincent Aham, the Deputy Vice-President (South-East) of Ohanaeze Ndigbo, expressed optimism that Kanu would be released if negotiations commenced, adding that dialogue with the Federal Government was long overdue.
Aham said, “It is a welcome development the call by Mazi Nnamdi Kanu to seek negotiation with the FG. Elder statesmen like the late ex-Aviation Minister, Mbazuluike Amechi, and several others, had sought a political solution and negotiation over the release of Kanu, during the last administration of Muhammadu Buhari. But despite all the efforts, Buhari refused to release him till he left office, even despite the fact that the law court of the land had set him free. We are still watching and expect that the Federal Government release him so that insecurity will end in the region.
“It is our belief that his release will go a long way to douse the tension in the South-East triggered by insecurity and killings. Kanu himself has consistently maintained that the killings and insecurity in the region should stop, maintaining that IPOB was created based on a ‘non-violence’ platform. President Bola Tinubu should heed the call by the people and do the needful by releasing the young man.”
In this complex and ongoing saga, the focus now turns to whether the Federal Government will respond to Kanu’s plea for negotiation and whether his call for peace will resonate enough to curb the violence that has gripped the South-East.