Deputy Speaker of the House of Representatives, Benjamin Kalu, has assured that the detained leader of the Indigenous People of Biafra (IPOB), Nnamdi Kanu, would soon regain his freedom.
The Deputy Speaker, who revealed that he has met with Kanu a couple of times in the Department of State Services (DSS) detention facility, said that hopes are high that the IPOB leader will soon be released.
Kalu stated this while acknowledging a recent call by about 50 members of the House of Representatives, led by Obi Aguocha, to release the IPOB leader.
It will be recalled that the lawmakers, reportedly led by the member representing Ikwuano/Umuahia South and North Federal Constituency of Abia, on Monday, wrote an open letter to President Bola Tinubu, appealing for the release of Kanu by invoking Section 174 of the 1999 Constitution (as amended) and section 107(1) of Administration of Criminal Justice Act, 2015.
Kalu applauded the lawmakers from across the six geopolitical zones of the country and the political parties for throwing their weight behind him on the appeals for Kanu’s freedom.
According to the Deputy Speaker, there are expectations that the South East caucus will also arise in unison soon to support the effort.
Recalling the impact of Peace in South East Project (PISE-P), a social advocacy group he founded that promotes the idea of a non-kinetic approach in resolving the security challenges and other sociological issues in the region, Kalu said that the release of the IPOB leader is very crucial to the restoration of peace in the zone.
He said that a milestone has been recorded in his private engagements with the authorities on achieving a political solution in Kanu’s case.
The Deputy Speaker recalled that Aguocha accompanied him in one of those engagements with the decision makers in the country on the issue.
Kalu, however, stated that such high profile security issues are not products of advertisement in the media, hence, the need to keep them confidential in order not to jeopardise the gains so far made.
