Our Reporter, Abuja
A South-East traditional ruler, His Royal Majesty, Igwe Lawrence Agubuzu, on Tuesday publicly urged President Bola Ahmed Tinubu to release the detained leader of the Indigenous People of Biafra (IPOB), Nnamdi Kanu, or return him to the country from where he was extradited.
Igwe Agubuzu made the appeal Tuesday at the 2026 National Traditional and Religious Leaders Summit on Health held at the State House, Abuja, with President Tinubu in attendance as Special Guest of Honour.
The monarch said the continued detention of Nnamdi Kanu was fueling agitation among youths in the South-East and complicating efforts by traditional rulers to promote peace and national unity.
“Mr President, you were not here in the morning. There were several speeches. I listened carefully to the opening address by His Imperial Majesty, the Ooni of Ife, and he was gingering all of us to work as a family, to work as a team, that Nigeria is one,” Agubuzu said.
He, however, expressed concern over what he described as contradictions in the message of unity, referencing plans by the Ooni of Ife to confer a high honour on Sunday Igboho.
“When you look at it, this same Imperial Majesty is arranging to confer a very high honour on Sunday Igboho, who in my own part of Nigeria in the South-East, we see as a counterpart of Nnamdi Kanu,” he stated.
The monarch said many in the region were pained that Kanu remained in custody, adding that traditional rulers were under intense pressure from young people who accuse them of not doing enough.
“My brother, my fellow royal father, does not seem to understand the pain in my heart when Nnamdi Kanu is in Sokoto. So sir, the ball stops in your court. Bring this man out. If you don’t want him in Nigeria, return him to Kenya or London where they took him from,” Agubuzu appealed.
He warned that the agitation among South-East youths was deepening mistrust toward traditional leaders.
“Some of us here are being asked to go and work, and the young people in the South-East are so agitated. They can even beat us; they see us as sellouts. When we come to Abuja, they may think we came to collect money and keep quiet,” he said.
Agubuzu urged the President to confront difficult national issues directly, stressing that progress would remain elusive without frank dialogue.
“Sir, please do something about this. We cannot make progress in this country if we don’t tell ourselves the home truth,” he added.
