• S’East senators, OYC appeal to Tinubu to free Kanu
Former President, Olusegun Obasanjo, has said that he did not discuss Nnamdi Kanu’s issue during his meeting with the South East governors in Enugu State.
Obasanjo had, on Tuesday, alongside Emeka Anyaoku and His Royal Majesty, Igwe Alfred Nnaemeka Achebe, met with the South East governors. Following the meeting, there were speculations that they discussed the issue of Kanu’s release during the meeting.
However, Obasanjo, in a statement by his Special Assistant on Media, Kehinde Akinyemi, yesterday, said that the meeting was to discuss regional development issues, adding that the potential release of Kanu by the Federal Government was not part of it.
He added that part of the issues discussed included security and infrastructure, economic and cooperation/collaboration, which was meant to complement the national economic development agenda.
Obasanjo said: “Anyaoku and I were invited to the meeting before their summit began. The issue of Kanu was not on the agenda and was not discussed in my presence.”
In the meantime, Senators from the South East, yesterday, pleaded passionately with President Bola Tinubu to order the release of Kanu.The senators numbering 15 and led by a former Abia State Deputy Governor, Enyinnaya Abaribe, claimed that unless Kanu is released, the social and economic activities in the region will continue to be stagnant.
The Senators held a closed door meeting with the Attorney General of the Federation (AFG) and Minister of Justice, Prince Lateef Fagbemi (SAN), where they appealed for the release of Kanu.
Addressing journalists immediately after the closed door meeting, Abaribe, who spoke on behalf of his colleagues, lamented that the economy and social life in the South East had suffered enough owing to continued incarceration of the leader of the Indigenous People of Biafra (IPOB).
Abaribe noted that the peaceful demand of the detained IPOB leader had been hijacked by hoodlums and criminals leading to wanton killings of innocent people, including security operatives.
The former Abia Deputy Governor told newsmen that he had already met with Kanu at the headquarters of the Department of State Services (DSS) in Abuja, and had agreed to abide by any conditional release.
Abaribe expressed optimism that once Kanu is released, the tension and acrimony engulfing the South East since 2021 when he was clamped into the DSS custody would become an event of the past.
Also, the youth wing of the apex Igbo socio-cultural organisation, Ohanaeze Ndigbo Youth Council Worldwide (OYC), yesterday, appealed to the President to make history by ordering the release of the IPOB leader.
The Igbo youth group also commended the South East governors and Senators from the region for their recent move towards Kanu’s release. Reacting to the developments, the National President of OYC, Okwu Nnabuike, in a statement, expressed delight that the Igbo leaders have risen to the occasion.
