Tinubu not responsible for Kanu’s detention

An elder statesman and Industrialist, Chike Obidigbo, said that President Bola Tinubu is not the one holding the leader of the Indigenous people of Biafra (IPOB), Mazi Nnamdi Kanu, saying his case is purely a security issue. He frowned at the way some Igbo politicians are politicising the call for his release, adding that they are worsening his case He advised politicians, especially those from the Southeast against compounding the travails of the Leader of the Indigenous People of Biafra (IPOB) He expressed dismay that some Igbo political elites are going about the ongoing popular demand for the release of the embattled IPOB leader the wrong way. Obidigbo added that the overzealous politicians are acting out of ignorance and mostly in self-aggrandizement. Elder statesman and industrialist, Chike Obidigbo, stated that President Bola Tinubu is not responsible for detaining the leader of the Indigenous People of Biafra (IPOB), Mazi Nnamdi Kanu, emphasising that Kanu’s situation is strictly a security issue. Obidigbo criticised Igbo politicians for politicizing the call for Kanu’s release, arguing that their actions are exacerbating the situation. He advised Southeast politicians to avoid complicating Kanu’s plight further. Expressing disappointment, Obidigbo noted that some Igbo political elites are mishandling the popular demand for Kanu’s release, driven by ignorance and self-interest. In a statement made available to reporters Sunday, July 7, in Awka, Anambra state, Obidigbo, noted that the delicate nature of Kanu’s incarceration requires quiet diplomacy to achieve a political solution, without politicising the young man’s release, the way they are going about it. While identifying the salient complications around the IPOB leader’s forceful rendition and consequent incarceration, the Anambra-born elder statesman said Britain’s loud silence about Kanu’s predicament raises a large red flag. The statement read in part: “I woke up this morning with a very heavy heart. I am constrained to say that I am not comfortable with the way and manner our political elites are going about their request for the release of Mazi Nnamdi Kanu. “The sense I make of the cheap scramble by Igbo politicians to be identified in the growing calls for Mazi Nnamdi Kanu’s freedom from prolonged and unjust incarceration is that they are merely playing to the gallery. “It is obvious that President Bola Ahmed Tinubu is not entirely the one holding Nnamdi Kanu. “It was not even former President Muhammadu Buhari nor his erstwhile Attorney General of the Federation (AGF), Abubakar Malami SAN. All the AGFs, including the current one are mere legal officers for the government. “However, Kanu’s matter is a security issue, which requires the involvement of the National Security Adviser (NSA), Nuhu Ribadu. The President may not have absolute power to release Kanu although he has the power to influence things if he so wishes.” Obidigbo disclosed that the other powerful elephant in the room blocking Nnamdi Kanu’s freedom is the British government, stressing that Kanu acted against British economic interest in Nigeria. “Everything that Kanu said or did was done in Britain, being a British citizen. But, they could not afford to arrest him on British soil, because of obvious and potential backlash. “What Britain did was to join in the international conspiracy to lure Kanu to Kenya, knowing that Africans lack integrity and respect for laws. “They then got him kidnapped in Kenya and forcibly and illegally renditioned him to Nigeria. “They could not have done that in any other part of the world, outside of Africa, without extreme repercussions and consequences. Such can only happen in Africa, and they knew that much. “The British High Commissioner in Nigeria showed no interest in at least speaking up against the violent kidnap and rendition of her citizen. “All the Embassy was interested was to hear Kanu renounce his dream of a Biafra, probably with a promise never to support any such agitation in the future,” the elder statesman said.