Stephen Ukandu, Umuahia
Former Senate Minority Leader, Senator Enyinnaya Abaribe, has said that the conviction and sentencing of the leader of the Indigenous People of Biafra, IPOB, Mazi Nnamdi Kanu, did not come to him as a surprise.
Abaribe, in a statement issued Thursday in Abuja by his Media Adviser, Uchenna Awom, described the life sentence handed down to Kanu as “a preconceived plot” long anticipated by the Igbo nation and other well-meaning Nigerians.
He recalled that the refusal of the Federal Government to extend amnesty to Kanu—an appeal made at the time in line with similar concessions granted to other groups—was a clear signal of what was to come.
“Is it not ironic that negotiations and peace deals with rampaging terrorists in the North-East and North-West were gleefully initiated by the local, state, and federal governments, just like the amnesty for ex-militants in the South-South who were rewarded with lucrative oil pipeline contracts? This is to say that justice in Nigeria is not for the South-East,” Abaribe stated.
According to him, although many interventions were made urging the authorities to act with restraint and consider granting Kanu pardon in the interest of national unity and inclusiveness, those appeals were ignored.
“So, we are not surprised. Our people can only endure and hope for a time when justice in Nigeria will become the sine qua non. We have done our best,” he said.
Abaribe, however, stressed that the Igbo nation now has no option but to place its fate squarely in the hands of President Bola Ahmed Tinubu.
He urged Ndigbo and other lovers of peace to remain calm and law-abiding.
“May Nigeria succeed, thrive, and advance in justice, equity, and fairness,” the Senator added.
