‘Nigeria May Never Know Peace’ – Bishop Nwokolo Declares Over Nnamdi Kanu’s Continued Detention

The Bishop of the Diocese on the Niger, Rt. Rev. Owen Nwokolo, has criticized the continued detention of the embattled leader of the Indigenous People of Biafra (IPOB), Mazi Nnamdi Kanu.

The cleric who asserted that Kanu’s further detention is resulting in more bloodshed in the Southeast region of the country said Nigeria may never know peace if the government, through the Supreme Court, insisted on sending the separatist to jail.

According to Nwokolo, sending Kanu to jail equals sending many Igbos to jail, a development he considered a call for more violence.

The bishop expressed his belief that resolving Mazi Kanu’s case politically would be more effective than through the courts.

Regarding the recent Supreme Court ruling on Kanu, the bishop stated that it could have brought some calm to the people of the region during the festive period. However, since the apex court ruled differently, there seemed to be no other options available.

Nevertheless, Nwokolo emphasized that this case was not an ordinary one, but rather a politically motivated one that required a political resolution.

The cleric also placed some blame on the people of the South-East for not uniting their voices in demanding the release of the IPoB leader. He advised that the people of the region should strive to work together for a common cause.

He said: “We thought that the Supreme Court would use the release of Nnamdi Kanu to calm the nerves of the people of the region but the reverse was the case, and one cannot do anything because the highest court in the and has spoken.

“However, the people in the South-East should learn to work together because united we stand, divided we fall. We can work together to make our zone peaceful, and progressive, and we must show empathy to things that are happening to others. We can also, in that unity, speak to the government of the day because the way it sees it, Nnamdi Kanu’s case is political, not an ordinary case.

“Political cases like this are handled politically. Courts cannot adjudicate on it without causing more problems. This is because if you imprison Kanu, if you send him to jail, you are sending many Igbos to jail, and the country may never know peace. If you release him you have released many Igbo people.

“The more they keep him in detention the more they are unsettling the South-East, and Nigeria does not need such distraction. We should come together as Igbos, speak with one voice go to the Federal Government and ask them to leave the young man, then other things can follow. That is my view on the matter.”