According to the spokesman for the Indigenous People of Biafra, Emma Powerful, Nnamdi Kanu’s ongoing arrest is “unconstitutional” and that self-determination is legal under the African Union Charter and the laws of the United Nations.
The pro-Biafran leader Mazi Nnamdi Kanu’s unconditional release was demanded by the governors of Anambra and Enugu states, Prof. Chukwuma Soludo and Dr. Peter Mba, respectively, according to a statement released by the IPOB on Tuesday.
The pro-Biafran organization praised Kanayo.O. Kanayo, Rev. Fr. Ejike Mbaka, and others who have also spoken out for Kanu’s release.
He said, “We wish to commend people like Enugu State Governor, Dr Peter Mba, Anambra State Governor, Prof. Chukwuma Soludo, Rev. Fr. Ejike Mbaka, Barr. Kanayo .O. Kanayo, and others for their persistent calls for the release of Kanu from detention.
He asserted that the indigenous people have a natural right to pursue their own political, economic, cultural, and social future and claimed that Kanu had been forcibly taken from Kenya to Nigeria and held there for two years in solitary confinement because of his demand for a United Nations-supervised Biafra referendum.
“In Nigeria today, Kanu remains the only political prisoner held unconstitutionally in custody without charge because he is an Igbo man. The main reason for his persecution and illegal incarceration is because he is fighting for the freedom and wellbeing of his people.”
The organization asserted that by detaining their leader in detention, the Federal Government had demonstrated its enmity and disdain for the Ndigbo. The Ndigbo are now a vulnerable group, the statement claims, who are discriminated against, singled out, and murdered by security forces.
“The Federal Government has demonstrated hatred and disdain against Ndigbo by illegally holding onto this Igbo illustrious son without charge. Kanu and other IPOB members in various detentions even after the Nigeria courts have ordered their release are still being held without explanation from the Federal Government.
“The same Federal Government criminalized the IPOB leader and members for peacefully seeking to chart a political future for Biafrans as enshrined in UN and African Union Charters. Who beats a child and stops him from crying? Who does that?
He claimed that because of its hostility against the Ndigbo and its illogical fear of an autonomous and independent Biafran nation, Nigeria has become an outcast state. He emphasized that the Federal Government should start talking about a referendum date and terms as soon as possible and that their demand for a referendum is not negotiable.
“If after the referendum Biafrans vote ‘yes’ to exit Nigeria, Biafra and Nigeria can still be good neighbors. Our request for the independent state of Biafra is not out of hatred for others but for self-preservation and reclamation of racial dignity.”
