Igbo Elders React As Nnamdi Kanu Heads To Supreme Court

Leaders of the South East geopolitical zone under the aegis of Igbo Elders Consultative Forum (IECF), have berated the Federal Government over its failure to abide by the Court of Appeal judgement which freed the leader of the Independent People of Biafra (IPOB), Nnamdi Kanu.

They also called on the Federal Government to obey the court ruling and release the IPOB leader in the interest of peace and stability in the South East instead of allowing the case to reach the Supreme Court.

Naija News reports that the Chairman of IECF and former Governor of Anambra State, Dr Chukwuemeka Ezeife, and its Secretary, Prof. Charles Nwekeaku, made this known in a statement on Friday.

The IECF described the Appeal Court ruling which quashed all the remaining seven count charges against Kanu as historic, courageous and patriotic, adding that the judgement confirms that the judiciary remains the last hope of the common man.

The organization said, “The Federal Government appeal against the Court of Appeal three-man unanimous judgement, which discharged Mazi Nnamdi Kalu, is capable of aggravating the security challenges and peace process initiatives in the South East, preventing the conduct of 2023 general elections in the zone, as well as its ripple effects on the peace, unity, stability and continued corporate existence of Nigeria.

“More worrisome is the media reports that the courageous and patriotic three-member Appeal Court Panel that gave the laudable and landmark judgement of discharging Nnamdi Kalu was all transferred outside the FCT, Abuja within four days of delivery the judgement, which quashed the remaining seven of the original 15 count-charges of the Federal Government against him. Justice Binta Nyako of a Federal High Court, Abuja had earlier quashed and discharged him of 8 of the 15 terrorism charges brought against him by the Federal Government.

“The October 13 Federal Appeal Court unanimous ruling on Nnamdi Kalu, which quashed all the remaining seven count charges against him was not only historic, courageous and Patriotic, but also a naked confirmation that the judiciary remains the last hope of the common man, especially in Nigeria’s current dispensation where the executive arm of government is selective and rascal on what laws to obey and the ones to disobey.

“We salute the courage and patriotism of this rare breed of justices that delivered an objective, popular and historic judgement On Kanu.

“As responsible Igbo Elders, who believe in the peace, unity, stability and corporate existence of Nigeria, we appeal to the Federal Government to withdraw its appeal against the unanimous ruling of the three-man panel of the Court of Appeal, and release our son, Kanu as directed by the Court.”

The elders observed that even if the federal government should appeal against the unanimous ruling of the Court of Appeal, it should first obey the ruling of its own court.

They called on President Muhammadu Buhari to release Kanu to them in honour of the memory of the first First Republic Minister, the late Chief Mbazulike Amaechi.

The IECF said, “The Federal Government insisted that ASUU must obey the courts first before its appeal case would be heard, and the latter [ASUU] has complied. The Federal Government should obey the ruling of the Court of Appeal and release Kanu for the say, of equity, justice and fairness.

“Nigerians and the international community are living witnesses to a series of efforts and visits of the Igbo leaders, including the high-level Ohaneze worldwide delegation led by 94-year-old First Republic Minister, Chief Mbazulike Amaechi, which had appealed to President Muhammadu Buhari, to explore the political solution and release Nnamdi Kalu to our elders.

“Chief Amaechi had pleaded that Mr President should release Mr Kanu to him as a special favour and birthday gift to him as an elder statesman. Mr President refused and insisted that the judiciary should be allowed to handle the matter.

“The Appeal Court not only quashed the terrorism charges against Nnamdi Kalu but also ruled that the Federal Government breached all known local and International laws in the forceful rendition of Kanu to Nigeria, thereby making terrorism charges against him incompetent and unlawful.

“We still appeal to Mr President to rescind the Government appeal to the Supreme Court and release Nnamdi Kalu in honour of the memory of late Chief Amaechi, who just passed on without witnessing the release of Mr Kanu.

“We also appeal to ndi Igbo, both home and in Diaspora, to remain calm and avoid any actions that would aggravate the already tensed security challenges in the South East.

“We call on the international community, European Union, USA, China, Russia, United Kingdom, and other progressive and democratic organisations and individuals to prevail on the Federal Government to obey the court judgement, and release Nnamdi Kanu, whose health conditions, we learnt, have deteriorated terribly.”