12th July, 2021
The Spiritual Director, Adoration Ministry Enugu, Nigeria, Rev Fr Ejike Mbaka, has called for the release of the leader of the proscribed Indigenous People of Biafra, Nnamdi Kanu.
The Catholic priest was reported to have made the call during a sermon on Sunday, at his adoration ground.
Mbaka added that Nnamdi Kanu is not a murderer or a member of the Boko Haram terrorist and should not have been arrested.
He said: “Since you arrested him (Kanu), we have lost many lives. So, of what use is his arrest? After he was arrested, the kidnapping didn’t stop in the north; many students were kidnapped in Kaduna last week. Where were our security agencies? Why can’t they use the same temerity to arrest all those people doing this thing (killings)? Arresting Kanu will not solve the problem.”
He blamed the rise of insecurity and multiple reports of unknown gunmen on politicians.
Mbaka said, “politicians will buy ammunition and give it to millions of youth, and after the elections, no one collects the ammunition back.”
Mbaka said he made the request when some government agents, whom he did not mention, allegedly came calling with some offers.
He said, “Some persons came to me some time ago that they have two slots for me. I told them I don’t need such offers because I have a slot that I need. They said I should mention what I need.
“My first request was that they should release Nnamdi Kanu.
“Has anybody seen Kanu kill anyone? Kanu is not a murderer. Have you caught him with guns? Why arrest someone who has never kidnapped anyone? Our land must yield an increase. Kanu is not herdsmen, kidnappers, or bandits, or Boko Haram. He does not carry ammunition and he is not even an unknown gunman. My job is to say what the spirit asked me to say.
“If you use the same aggression you deployed to arrest Kanu to address terrorism, things will change. It would help if you used the same temerity to address poverty, herdsmenism, injustice, corruption, and unhealthy tribalism. I am for truth and justice.
“I cannot support terrorism. There is agitation everywhere. All the men of God are agitating silently. The police and the army are agitating. Do you blame them? If they talk, they will be killed. In the mosque, there is agitation. You don’t arrest the agitation. You arrest the cause of it. People are hungry and angry. Millions are idle and an idle hand is the devil’s workshop.
“If Nigeria is doing very well, will Kanu emerge? I am for justice, equity and fair play. Look at what is happening in the North, the north is finished.”