“Nnamdi Kanu’s Family Accuses South-East Governors of Inaction Over His Release”
The family of the detained leader of the Indigenous People of Biafra (IPOB), Mazi Nnamdi Kanu, has once again accused South-East Governors of failing to take decisive steps toward securing his release.
Speaking at a memorial service for their late parents, HRM Eze Israel and Ugoeze Sally Kanu, in Umuahia on Friday, Prince Emmanuel Kanu expressed disappointment over the governors’ lack of commitment to addressing his brother’s case. He alleged that President Bola Tinubu had already set conditions for Kanu’s release, but the governors had yet to act on them.
“South-East Governors are not doing enough to secure the release of Mazi Nnamdi Kanu. It’s either they are complicit, or something is amiss,” Prince Emmanuel stated. He questioned why the governors had not met with President Tinubu to discuss Kanu’s case, suggesting that if they were sincere, they would have sought an audience with him.
“Are they benefitting from the unrest in the South-East?” Prince Emmanuel asked, adding that freeing Kanu would quickly dissipate regional tensions. “Free Nnamdi Kanu today, and all this tension will fizzle out in 24 hours because we will now know those hiding under the guise of agitation to perpetrate crime in the region.”
The family also took issue with Justice Binta Nyako’s decision to indefinitely adjourn Kanu’s trial. They argued that she had previously recused herself from the case and no longer had jurisdiction, questioning her motives in continuing with the matter. “Why is she trying to force herself on the case? Does she have any interest in the matter?” the family asked. They also criticized her refusal to move Kanu to prison custody, insisting that he should not be held under harsh conditions in the DSS cell.
In a call for international intervention, the family insisted that Kanu had committed no crime to justify his continued incarceration. Elders from across the former Eastern region voiced their support for Kanu’s release. High Chief Agonsi Ebere, leader of Elders in Biafra land, described Kanu’s parents as martyrs for the Biafra cause, attributing their deaths to the trauma they endured after the military raid on their home in 2017.
“We are here to honor our leaders who laid down their lives for Biafra’s freedom,” Ebere said, urging the Federal Government to listen to the growing calls for Kanu’s release.
Aniekan Ekanem, the Akwa Ibom regional head of the pro-Biafra group, also spoke out, emphasizing that Biafra was not solely an Igbo agenda. “Biafra is not just for the Igbo. It affects the entire Old Eastern region, including Akwa Ibom, which is known as ‘Igbo Nta.’ We share common cultural and historical ties,” Ekanem explained.
The event saw widespread support, with attendees from various South-East and South-South states, including Bayelsa, Rivers, Edo, Delta, Akwa Ibom, and Cross River, showing solidarity with Kanu’s cause. Prince Emmanuel Kanu reiterated the family’s demand for his brother’s unconditional release, emphasizing that the issues Kanu had raised required meaningful dialogue, not imprisonment.
“The masses are behind him because he is championing a just cause,” he said.
