A group of clerics has decried the half-hearted disposition of the South-east Governors in the quest to end the continued detention of the leader of the Indigenous People of Biafra (IPOB), Mazi Nnamdi Kanu.
The clergymen under the aegis of the Concerned Igbo Ministers Commission (CIMC) expresssed their disappointment in a statement signed by the International President/Coordinator, Rev Tony Uzo Anthony, and General Secretary, Apostle Tony Osuji, made available to the media in Umuahia.
The South-East Governors Forum(SEGF) had at their meeting in Enugu on July 2, 2024 resolved to meet with President Bola Tinubu to discuss the release of Kanu, which they considered as one of the “pressing issues” in the zone.
But three months down the line, nothing has been heard about implementation of the resolution as a delegation of the SEGF is yet to meet Mr. President over Kanu’s continued detention.
Given the lethargy being displayed by the Southeast Governors, the Concerned Igbo Ministers said that “as a group” they now believe that the governors “are involved in a conspiracy to keep Mazi Nnamdi Kanu (in detention) for political reasons”.
According to the group, the game plan could be a politically motivated agreement to keep Kanu in detention and possibly free him before the end of 2024 and then use his release as campaign carrot “to help Mr. President Ahmed Tinubu win the South East and South South States”.
“South East governors and Mr, President shouldn’t think that we are ignorant of their activities or conspiracies, and also know that no one knows what God has in stock for us,” the church ministers said.
The clerics also said the new twist in the IPOB leader’s lingering court trial was worrisome, as the presiding judge, who had “openly refused to obey Supreme Court decisions involving our son Mazi Nnamdi Kanu” has eventually recused herself from the case.
They wondered why Justice Binta Nyako had opted to proceed with the matter only to withdraw knowing, ab initio, that “the charges against Mazi Nnamdi Kanu were politically motivated and baseless”.
The ministers appealed to “our diaspora brothers and sisters to contact Kenya, Britain, Southeast governors, and Mr. President to persuade them to release Mazi Nnamdi Kanu, who has done nothing wrong”.
They noted that from their subterfuge “it appears that those who don’t want peace are the Southeast governors who currently profit from security votes.
The CIMC challenged the Southeast governors to prove them wrong, saying “if you want peace, like our son Mazi Nnamdi Kanu, why not pay him a visit, speak with him, and find solutions to put an end to the instability in the South East”.
The group called on “our friends in Nigeria to reject this evil” of selective justice in the country, urging traditional rulers, religious leaders, pressure groups, and the world community “to come together and condemn this demonic scheme against Ndi Igbo”.
It warned those behind the conspiracy to keep Kanu in detention that whatever happens to him “you all will be held liable”.