BY BRIGHT JACOB
One week into his administration, Nigeria’s newly inaugurated President, Bola Tinubu, has been inundated with requests by analysts and concerned Nigerians alike to expedite the release of Nnamdi Kanu of the Indigenous People of Biafra, and as well use his political connection to effect the release of Yoruba Nation activist, Sunday “Igboho” Adeyemo, who are in Kuje prison in Abuja and under house arrest in neighbouring Benin Republic, respectively.
Kanu, 55, was arrested in Kenya by the International Police, or better still, the Interpol, on June 27, 2021, reportedly in conjunction with Kenyan authorities who later denied having a hand in his ordeal, and was brought to Nigeria to face trial for terrorism and other offences.
Before his arrest in Kenya, however, Kanu, who hails from Isiama Afara, Umuahia in Abia State, was arrested in Lagos on October 14, 2015, by Nigeria’s secret police, the Department of State Services, on an 11-count charge bordering on treasonable felony, presiding over a proscribed society, terrorism, illegal possession of firearms, among others.
Expectedly, his arrest elicited a wave of protests in the South East and even engineered the infamous Monday sit-at-home in the five Southeastern states, namely, Abia, Anambra, Enugu, Imo and Ebonyi States, put in place by a faction of IPOB.
And even after it was decided by Kanu and the hierarchy of IPOB that the sit-at-home only took place on the days Kanu would appear in court, the fear of possible attacks against them by IPOB had registered in the minds of southeasterners and it became difficult to return to the status quo there.
Kanu did appear in court and perfected his bail conditions in 2017. At the time, a serving Senator, Eyinnaya Abaribe, was his surety. The secessionist leader later fled the country while on bail and escaped to the United Kingdom, where he is also a British national.
Adducing reasons for his action, Kanu claimed that his life was in danger because his home town was invaded by the military, and resulted in the deaths of over two dozen IPOB members.
Kanu continued his agitation in the UK, where he formed Radio Biafra and later the Eastern Security Network, to enforce the decisions of IPOB. He was arrested in Kenya in 2021 and brought back to Nigeria.
Kanu has had several court judgments that ordered the Federal Government to release him. This wasn’t heeded by the Buhari government which spearheaded Kanu’s arrest and blocked all the decisions for Kanu’s release by obtaining new court orders.
The onus, analysts say, is now on Tinubu to do the needful.
A newly sworn-in Governor from the South East, Peter Mbah of Enugu State, who likely felt the pulse of the people concerning Kanu’s continued incarceration, had spoken up and pleaded with Tinubu to release Kanu “to expedite Nigeria’s healing process.”
Mbah, who made the passionate appeal to the President after his first meeting with various heads of security agencies in the state, also put an end to the IPOB’s Monday sit-at-home, saying it is abominable and antithetical to greatness and the spirit of industry the Igbo profess to have inherited from their forebears.
“I call on our newly sworn-in president, President Bola Ahmed Tinubu, to consciously work towards the release of Mazi Nnamdi Kanu. We believe that his release will expedite the healing process Nigeria needs at this time.
“It will also be a pointer to his administration’s extension of brotherly hands of fellowship to Ndigbo.
“The idea behind sitting at home on Monday, the first working and business day of the week, is abominable and antithetical to greatness and the spirit of industry we profess to have inherited from our forebears.
“This cannot be us. Tufiakwa (God forbid). It does colossal damage to us”, Mbah stated.
His Anambra State counterpart, Governor Charles Soludo, also appealed to former President Muhammadu Buhari in the twilight of his administration to release Kanu, before exiting office on 29 May.
Soludo made the appeal in a letter dated 20 April and addressed to the former president.
Soludo, in the letter, said the continued detention of the IPOB leader has continued to affect residents of the South East who are forced to observe a sit-at-home order on Mondays out of fear.
“When he was still free, Igboho trusted the governors. He even said they were with him in trying to actualise the Yoruba nation dream. How wrong he was”
The governor expressed surprise that despite a call by the United Nations Human Rights Council for the release of Kanu and various court rulings in Nigeria freeing the IPOB leader, the Federal Government has refused to release him.
“In the meantime, the continued detention of Mazi Kanu has created what, for want of a better description, can be seen as systemic insecurity in the South East.
“Some supporters of Mazi Kanu have imposed the obnoxious and harmful sit-at-home order every Monday in the South East, while all manner of criminal gangs- kidnappers, bandits, armed robbers, now masquerade as ‘freedom fighters’ or those fighting for the release of Mazi Kanu,” he wrote.
Soludo told the former president that Kanu was reported to be “gravely ill” with life-threatening conditions which he listed to include serious heart condition, hypertension and low potassium levels.
The governor stressed that the medical conditions require specialist medical care and interventions which are unavailable at the SSS facility where Kanu is being detained.
“In the light of the foregoing, it is my earnest prayer that Mr. President may kindly consider the immediate and unconditional release of Mazi Kanu as demanded by the United Nations Human Rights Council and the Federal High Court.
“This will be the right thing to do as a country that should extol the principle of the rule of law in compliance with the international law and conventions that Nigeria is signatory to,” Soludo added.
The governor told Buhari to consider granting Kanu an “administrative bail on compassionate grounds and as part of national healing” if there were persisting grounds that would make his unconditional release “untenable.”
“In this circumstance, I am prepared to take him (Kanu) on bail. My government is prepared to provide him with alternative secured accommodation at Awka where he will have access to appropriate medical care, among others, and make him available when required,” he assured.
Adeyemo, 50, from Igboho, Oyo State, hasn’t enjoyed much solidarity with the governors from his own region as none is yet to “swim with him”.
He is agitating for a separate Yoruba state from Nigeria. His annoyance is with the never-ending squabble and deadly struggle between the Yoruba and Fulani herdsmen from the North over access to land and grazing rights.
Though Igboho, a known car salesman in Oyo State, became a hero of sorts in the South West after he called, on October 1, 2020, for the creation of an independent Yoruba state, he, however, didn’t enjoy maximum support from the political elite in his region.
Probably oblivious to this, he forged ahead with his views and even threatened to expel Fulani herdsmen from the South West, when he gave them a seven-day ultimatum after the killing in January 2021 of popular Oyo politician, Fatai Aborode.
That decision gained him social media attention and notoriety, at least with the Buhari government, who placed him on their watch list and monitored his movement.
Thus, one cold night on July 1, 2021, in Soka, Ibadan, his residence was invaded in a gestapo-style, around 1am by men of the DSS.
Apart from the assorted vehicles and other property which were destroyed, two of Igboho’s aides were killed in the fiery exchange of gunfire, while 13 others were arrested. And it didn’t stop there, either.
Spokesperson of the DSS, Peter Afunnaya, later said that seven AK-47 rifles, 5,000 rounds of ammunition, pump action guns and other weapons were seized at the premises. They declared Igboho wanted for allegedly stockpiling weapons in his residence.
Igboho, however, escaped the clamp of the DSS. From his hideout, he denied the allegation leveled against him before escaping to the Benin Republic, hoping to take a flight from there to Germany.
He was arrested at the Cardinal Bernardin International Airport; three weeks after the DSS raid, after authorities there said he was in possession of a doctored Beninese passport.
According to reports, Igboho disembarked from his plane, arrested by the Beninese police before being transferred to the Cotonou Criminal Brigade. His wife, a German citizen, too was arrested but she was released shortly after.
Igboho also claimed that he fled for his life after the DSS raid. And try as they might, Buhari’s government failed to secure his extradition to Nigeria, as various voices and groups in Nigeria urged the Beninese government not to send him back to Nigeria.
Though he appeared in court and was later released conditionally from custody, Igboho was placed under house arrest in Cotonou, the capital of Benin Republic.
A public affairs analyst based in Lagos State, Johnson Fajimi, says it is “amazing” how no governor from the South West has spoken up recently on behalf of Igboho, and that the activist might have made a huge mistake trusting governors from the region and thinking they support the Yoruba nation.
Fajimi said the silence of the South West Governors over Igboho’s ordeal was so loud. He called on the Governor of Lagos State, Babajide Sanwo-Olu to galvanise the other governors into action since “he is the closest to the President” and also “has the ears of the President.”
Fajimi said, “It is amazing how governors from the South West have chosen to maintain a loud silence over Igboho’s predicament. This is unlike people from the region who are known to be their brothers’ keepers. Could it be because Igboho refused to endorse the candidature of Tinubu before the election?
“When he was still free, Igboho trusted the governors. He even said they were with him in trying to actualise the Yoruba nation dream. How wrong he was.
“In fact, the Governor of Lagos State, who I think has the ears of the President and is likely the closest to the President, could only say these were difficult times for South West governors and that people are working behind the scenes. My question is…where is the result of that ‘working behind the scene’ today?
“The governors have failed to speak up and only a handful of Yoruba groups scattered across the South West have been clamouring for Igboho’s release. Those governors have forgotten the man…and I believe it’s because the political elite from the South West don’t want to associate with Igboho,” Fajimi lamented.
Without much ado, past Nigerian Presidents have harped on their uncompromising stance for a united Nigeria.
For instance, former Presidents Olusegun Obasanjo and Muhammadu Buhari did every in their power to thwart the efforts of self-determination groups who are repeatedly claiming that marginalisation, as in the case of IPOB, and Fulani herdsman encroachment into their farmland, are the major reasons why they have not dropped their breakaway aspirations.
Now, like the other Nigerian Presidents who vehemently resisted the likes of Kanu, Igboho or even Boko Haram founder, Mohammed Yusuf, who warred for a separate Caliphate in Nigeria, Tinubu is expected to also bring his administrative know-how to address every agitation in the country.
However, how he will go about it is a source of concern for Nigerians who have urged him to tread cautiously and not tilt the delicate balance already established in the country in a manner that could spell disaster.
Before his inauguration, therefore, as President and Commander-in-Chief of the Nigerian Armed Forces on May 29, one of Tinubu’s cardinal promises was the assurance of an indivisible and unified country. According to him, this is non-negotiable, even as he asserts he will be fair to every Nigerian.
Tinubu said this much early in May when he paid a two-day official visit to Rivers State to commission some projects at the request of the former Governor of the State, Nyesom Wike.
Tinubu also said he was working in conjunction with Wike to promote unity in the country.
“I promise Nigerians that the unity of this country is not negotiable. That is what Wike and I are promoting jointly. I promise I will be fair to all,” Tinubu said during the commissioning.
A political analyst, Marvins Abhulimen, told The Point that Tinubu had to win some goodwill by giving some “relief” to Kanu and Igboho.
In his submission, Abhulimen said that releasing the two separatist fighters would be like an “advance payment” for that goodwill.
Abhulimen also charged Tinubu to honour court judgments ordering the release of Kanu, and ensure that all concerns and grievances of the agitators are looked into.
He, however, agreed that since Igboho was held by the Beninese Government, Tinubu could reduce the presence of Nigeria’s legal team to that country to show that he was not chasing any agenda to silence dissenting voices in the country, as this, in Ahbulimen’s view, would technically allow the case to die a natural death.
Ahbulimen said, “One way to win some goodwill from the Nigerian people would be to give Kanu and Igboho some relief. You know, releasing the so-called freedom fighters. Nnamdi Kanu has gotten several court judgments ordering his release from detention.
“Tinubu is the new government. He can release the man and let that be like his advance payment to win some minds over…and that he is not against them and not here to carryover or inherit the enemies of the last administration.
“So, I would suggest that where there are court declarations that any of these men be released, he should honour them and allow them to go. And he should also ensure that all the concerns and grievances of these men will be looked into.
“As for Igboho, he is in another country and I don’t know how much influence Tinubu has there to effect his release from house arrest.
“And remember, too, that Tinubu is Yoruba. If he is making some attempt to have Igboho released, that might be viewed from another light by Nigerians. For me, I would say that Tinubu shouldn’t allow these things to distract him. Igboho is outside the shores of the country.
“However, Tinubu can, at best, reduce the presence of the Nigerian legal team (going to Benin Republic for Igboho’s trial) so that he will not be seen to be chasing an agenda of trying to crush dissenting voices and other sorts of agitation, but instead be seen to be more reconciliatory and open to dialogue. Tinubu needs to maintain that kind of disposition and posture,” he said.
“The President must do things differently from the last President. He must revisit the case files of the two agitators and see what he can do to promote the elusive peace in the South East and South West”
Abhulimen also said that if Tinubu has “concerned stakeholders” coming to speak to him on behalf of Kanu and Igboho, he could consider their request and help in any way he can, but with the agreement that the agitators drop their agitation.
A legal practitioner based in Owerri, Imo State, Ejike Nwandu, said that Tinubu had to “do things differently from Buhari” in his handling of Kanu and Igboho.
On Igboho’s incarceration in Benin Republic, Nwandu said because of Tinubu’s political connection and influence, Igboho could be extradited to Nigeria to face trial in Nigeria now that Buhari was out of office.
According to Nwandu, Tinubu would calm frayed nerves in the South East and South West if he is able to address the issues raised by Kanu and Igboho.
He also said that Buhari failed to address Fulani herdsmen who grazed on the land of Southerners, but used the security apparatus in his control to silence those who spoke out against the actions of the herdsmen.
He also scored the Amotekun Corps, established by governors in the South West to talk about open grazing which has been banned in all the South West state’s, six out of ten.
Nwandu said, “Tinubu must show high level discretion and tread with caution as he tries to address the Kanu and Igboho trouble. Remember, we are looking at personalities from two of the most populous ethnic groups in Nigeria, the Igbo and Yoruba.
“The President must do things differently from the last President. He must revisit the case files of the two agitators and see what he can do to promote the elusive peace in the South East and South West. And unlike the last administration, he must jettison this strongman approach of the last President, and be ready for dialogue. It is time everyone sits on the round table for meaningful discussions. This will be good for the country,” he said.
Speaking further, Nwandu said, “It is true Igboho is in Benin Republic and under house arrest, but who says the Jagaban cannot press the right buttons to have Igboho extradited to Nigeria to face trial. Remember that Tinubu is no ordinary politician and I don’t see any way the authorities in that country will ignore him.
“Dialogue, too, will go a long way. I recall Kanu insisting that the South East is marginalised and that Nigeria has relegated the region to the background. I think if Tinubu can touch on this aspect and assuage frayed nerves by bringing the South East closer to the seat of power, this marginalisation talk will be permanently put to rest.
“As for the South West, Igboho was fighting Fulani herdsmen who were foraging for food into land belonging to indigenous people. After he screamed to the high heavens and it didn’t seem the Buhari government would proffer any solution, the man took up arms and charms. And to some extent, he was able to confront the situation headlong.
“However, it was obvious this annoyed the powers that be then, and together with his declaration for a Yoruba nation, they swooped on Igboho in the middle of the night to arrest him, and while trying to escape abroad, he was arrested in Benin Republic.
“So, Tinubu must look into the Fulani herdsmen issue, too…though it seems they have gone a little silent nowadays in the South West.”
