Ohanaeze to Tinubu: ‘Release Kanu to shut Simon Ekpa up’

Ohanaeze Ndigbo, the apex Igbo socio-cultural group, has urged President Bola Ahmed Tinubu to release Nnamdi Kanu, the leader of the proscribed Indigenous People of Biafra (IPOB) to shut Simon Ekpa up.

This, they claim, will relieve the tension in the South-East.

This comes just a few days after Kanu’s fundamental rights enforcement complaint against the Department of State Security Services was dismissed.

Kanu has been detained for over two years, while the region has been threatened by gunmen identified as IPOB members commanded by Simon Ekpa.

Ekpa is the self-proclaimed Prime Minister of the Biafra Republic Government in Exile. He recently declared a two-week sit-at-home order in the South East, all the way from Lahti, Finland.

Speaking on the issue, Ohanaeze spokesperson Alex Ogbonnia said Kanu’s continued arrest led to the agitation in the region, adding that the situation is a manifestation of the region’s social inequality.

“We have been consistent on the release of Nnamdi Kanu. We believe that the problem of what happened to Nnamdi Kanu has contributed to the agitation. What is happening in the South-East now is the manifestation of the social injustices meted on the South-East.

“Nnamdi Kanu issue will require a diplomatic political solution and not matter of charging him to court, leaving him in prison or being incarcerated; rather such will lead to more clamouring and affects the situation.

When asked if the tension in the South-East would come to an end if Kanu is released, he said, “If he (Kanu) is released, at least the likes of Simon Ekpa would not have anything else to say again. No person can use Nnamdi Kanu as an excuse to cause mayhem in the country.”