Mazi Nnamdi Kanu, the leader of the proscribed Indigenous People of Biafra, IPOB, has accused the Nigerian government of trampling on his fundamental rights, saying the charges against him are trumped up.
The leader of the secessionist group said he’s a prisoner of conscience describing the charges of terrorism against him as the concoction of the Nigerian government.
He said a federal high court has also declared that IPOB is not a terrorist group contrary to the position of the federal government.
The IPOB leader’s spokesman, Emma Powerful made the remark in a statement on Sunday, saying the rights of Kanu is being trampled upon by the government.
The magazine reported that Kanu has been detained by the Nigerian government since June 27, 2021 when he was arrested in Kenya, and has been put on trial for terrorism related charges.
Powerful appealed to the international community and well meaning Nigerians to intervene by ensuring that Kanu regained his freedom because he “has no case to answer”describing the charges against him as “bogus”.
Powerful: “We call on Nigerians, the international community, and all lovers of justice to heed this clarion call: Mazi Nnamdi Kanu has no case to answer. The continued persecution of our Leader is not only a gross violation of his fundamental rights but also an indictment of Nigeria’s judiciary, which has descended into a cesspool of judicial terrorism and criminal dereliction of duty.
“For too long, Nigerians have been misled by a false narrative propagated by the Nigerian State and its complicit media, claiming that Mazi Nnamdi Kanu faces charges of treason or terrorism.
“Let us set the record straight: the treasonable felony charges against our leader were struck out years ago when the former Attorney General, Abubakar Malami, realised the case was unwinnable. No treason was committed.
“The Nigerian State, in its desperation to silence the Biafran struggle, resorted to fabricating terrorism charges, despite the Federal High Court’s clear ruling that IPOB is a lawful organisation. This ruling was brazenly overturned through forum shopping by Malami, who secured a proscription order from Justice Kafarati’s court without granting IPOB the fair hearing guaranteed under Section 36 of Nigeria’s Constitution.
“This act alone exposes the Nigerian judiciary as a tool of oppression rather than a bastion of justice,” the IPOB spokesman stated.
The magazine reported that the federal government has rebuffed appeals by prominent Igbo leaders and other well meaning Nigerians to release the IPOB leader from detention.
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