Civil rights group, Human Rights Writers Association of Nigeria, has told the President, Major General Muhammadu Buhari (Retd.), to free the leader of the Indigenous People of Biafra, Nnamdi Kanu.
HURIWA’s National Coordinator, Emmanuel Onwubiko, in a statement on Sunday, challenged the President to be a man of his words by leaving the judiciary to decide on Kanu’s fate without any political interference or vendetta.
The group asked Buhari to direct the Attorney General of the Federation and Minister of Justice, Abubakar Malami, to comply with the Appellate Court’s judgment, freeing the IPOB leader before December 25, as a Christmas and parting gift.
The statement read partly, “As though a norm, all the major presidential candidates for the 2023 presidential election have adopted negotiated settlement to end agitations by IPOB and other secessionist groups like that of Yoruba Nation agitator, Sunday Adeyemo aka Sunday Igboho.
“This is a clear signal to President Muhammadu Buhari that he has got it all wrong seven years ago since he opted for only military methodology and extraordinary rendition of Nnamdi Kanu and lastly refusal to comply with Appeal court’s decision freeing Nnamdi Kanu.
“The President should honour his words and order Malami to heed the Appeal Court’s verdict for Kanu’s release. Anything aside from this shows that Buhari and his regime have no respect for the rule of law, and this is not surprising based on his antecedent as a military general.
“This is the most auspicious time for Buhari to make amends and release Nnamdi Kanu immediately, as his Christmas gift and one of his government’s major parting gifts to Nigerians and generations unborn because of the potential that the release of Nnamdi will restore peace and stability to South-East of Nigeria and restore economic growth of the region.”
