Stephen Ukandu, Umuahia.
Spokesman of the Conference of Nigeria’s Political Parties, CNPP, Ikenga Imo Ugochinyere, has expressed sadness over the rejection of the bail application by the Leader of the Indigenous People of Biafra, IPOB, Mazi Nnamdi Kanu, describing it as another lost opportunity by the Federal Government to douse the rising security tension in the South-East.
The Federal High Court sitting in Abuja, Wednesday, rejected Kanu’s bail application, saying that the court had no guarantee that he would not jump bail.
Ugochinyere who was reacting to the judgment and its implications on the security challenges in the South-East, argued that releasing Kanu would help douse the growing tension.
He argued that the President should have listened to calls and appeals from eminent Nigerians for political solution to be considered for Kanu.
According to him, “Buhari failed to address the issues which started as agitation against injustice before it degenerated into what it is today.”
He argued that if the President were truly interested in restoring peace to the South-East, he should have exercised his constitutional powers to withdraw the charges against Kanu to pave way for political solution.
Ugochinyere wondered why President Buhari is reluctant to consider political solution for Kanu but quick to grant amnesty to bandits and mass murderers.
According to him, “It’s a sad development that Nnamdi Kanu was denied bail. We just lost another opportunity to kickstart a political process towards resolving the issue.
“We all saw what happened in Umuahia, he ran for his dear life. And a federal high court in Umuahia ruled that the people wanted to kill him.
“When there was issue of militancy in Niger Delta, there were negotiations; when the issue of herdsmen came up, the President even wanted to give them lands; look at the energy with which he pursued ‘Ruga’, even when they were destroying peoples’ farms
“Look at the issue of Boko Haram, they even said they retrained some of them and even reintegrated them into the military.
“And somebody is telling you he has not been treated well and you don’t want to address the issue.
“So, before we blame anybody, we should first blame President Muhammadu Buhari for failing to address the issues.
“I’m calling on Justice Binta Nyako to consider public interest and do justice to the matter.”
Ugochinyere appealed to the President to consider political solution for Kanu in the interest of national peace.
