By Suleiman Anyalewechi
The spate of killings of both security agents and innocent civilians, as well as the horrifying regime of terror being foisted on most parts of the Southeast region of Nigeria ,are not in tandem with the founding principles of Indigenous Peoples of Biafra IPOB, Nnamdi Kanu has said .
This is even as he insisted that he is not averse to a negotiated political settlement of his ongoing trial by the Federal Government.
The Leader of IPOB who spoke with the media at the Court premises during the continued hearing of the terrorism charges being pressed against him, by the Federal Government in Abuja on Wednesday June 19 2024, voiced his condemnation of the wanton killings in the region in the name of the liberation movement.
” I condemn in its entirety all of the killings because IPOB was founded on a non-violent principle ,and we maintain that stand .
“And some of these soldiers ,we were told , were also our people and their families are in mourning right now.
“So I condemn all the killings. I don’t want that. We are fighting for freedom. So how can we want violence? We want people to be free.
“We have suffered a lot in Africa, from slavery in Arabia, Europe and now slavery in America.
“This is when to focus on this Continent and be what God wants us to be so that they will know that we know what we are doing”, Kanu stated.
Alloy Ejimakor, his lead Counsel,while addressing the trial judge, Binta Nyako informed that he intends to, under the provisions of section 17 of the Federal High Court Act, move for a negotiated settlement with the Federal Government concerning the fate of the IPOB leader.
Before then, Ejimakor said he will move an application that seeks to object to the jurisdiction of the Honourable Court to entertain the charges against the leader of the Biafra agitation movement.
However, where it fails, he will explore the second application bordering on a negotiated political settlement.
“Section 17 of the Federal High Court Act states: In any proceeding in the Court ,the Court may promote reconciliation among parties thereto and encourage and facilitate the amicable settlement thereof ” Ejimakor noted.
But in his submission, Counsel to the Federal Government Adegboyega Awomolo SAN said that his brief does not include the power to enter into any negotiation on behalf of his client .
The learned Senior Advocate rather advised Mazi Nnamdi Kanu to approach the Attorney General and Minister of Justice with the request.
On her part, the trial Judge, Justice Nyako noted that the role of the Court is only to hear litigations. and not to act as solicitors .
Instructively, this is not the first time that the detained leader of IPOB will be expressing his aversion to the use of the freedom movement to perpetrate criminal activities in the southeast region.
During a visit by Chief Emmanuel Iwuanyanwu, the President General of Ohaneze Ndigbo ,and other notable figures from the region some weeks ago, Mazi Kanu had in addition to the condemnation of the senseless killings, deplored the continued enforcement of the sit-at- home order earlier proclaimed by the movement.
The sit-at -home order was one of the non-violent means initially adopted to protest the extradition of Kanu from Kenya and his subsequent detention and trial in 2021.
However ,over time what began as a popular agitation was hijacked by some unscrupulous elements for the pursuit of pecuniary gains and hounding of perceived foes.
This has led to the killings of several scores of innocent civilians and security agents and the destruction of billions of naira worth of property in the region.
The region’s education and economic sectors have been dragged several years back by the activities of the criminal elements who, despite several appeals by Kanu to end the sit-at -home order, have continued to maim ,kill and pillage the region and its people.
