Stephen Ukandu, Umuahia
A chieftain of the ruling All Progressives Congress (APC) and former Director-General of the Voice of Nigeria (VON), Osita Okechukwu, has said he believes the detained leader of the Indigenous People of Biafra (IPOB), Mazi Nnamdi Kanu, should be released unconditionally.
Okechukwu made the assertion while responding to questions as a guest speaker at the August edition of the Ikengaonline town hall meeting, on Thursday.
The ex-DG of VON spoke on the theme: “Party Platforms and the South-East Agenda in 2027.”
He said he shared the opinion of the majority of Ndigbo that Kanu should be released as part of efforts to restore peace in the South-East.
“I believe, like every other Igbo person, that Mazi Nnamdi Kanu should be released. I will continue to lobby for his unconditional release. I join the Igbos on this position,” Okechukwu submitted.
The APC chieftain and strong ally of the late President Muhammadu Buhari disclosed that, while Buhari was alive, he had personally met with him to lobby for Kanu’s release.
Recall that Kanu was abducted and extraordinarily rendered from Kenya in June 2021 during the administration of the late President Buhari.
The IPOB leader has, since then, remained in solitary confinement at the Abuja headquarters of the Department of State Services (DSS).
Despite several court judgments ordering his immediate and unconditional release, the Federal Government has refused to free him.
The United Nations Working Group on Arbitrary Detention had also given an opinion that Kanu should be released unconditionally, but the Federal Government has remained adamant.
Several individuals and groups, including some members of the National Assembly cutting across the various geo-political zones, have equally advocated his release as a panacea to the tension in the South-East believed to be fueled by his continued incarceration.
He is currently being prosecuted at the Federal High Court, Abuja.
