Anambra State Governor Charles Chukwuma Soludo has revealed what Mazi Nnamdi Kanu, the embattled leader of the proscribed Indigenous People of Biafra (IPOB), will do if he is released from detention.
Kanu has been in the custody of the Department of State Services (DSS) since his arrest and repatriation to Nigeria from Kenya in 2021.
There have been a number of controversies surrounding the arrest and attempts to free the separatist. Governor Soludo, on the other hand, stated on Monday that he is making concerted efforts to secure Kanu’s release.
Kanu, if released, will help distinguish between genuine freedom fighters and criminals in the South East, he claims, because everyone has transformed into freedom fighters overnight, committing crimes in disguise.
WITHIN NIGERIA has learned that Soludo made the remarks yesterday during a quarterly statewide briefing intended to update Anambra residents on his government activities.
The former Governor of the Central Bank of Nigeria (CBN) revealed that he had scheduled a meeting with President Muhammadu Buhari and was just waiting for an appointment to discuss the issue of security in the South East and Kanu’s release.
It should be noted that Soludo previously urged the federal government to release Kanu. If the federal government finds it difficult to release the Biafra agitator unconditionally, the governor has promised to stand as surety.
However, in a quick response, Attorney General and Minister of Justice Abubakar Malami stated that Soludo only made a statement and had not applied to the court or his office for Kanu’s release.
However, in his address yesterday, Soludo stated that he hoped to meet President Buhari and discuss Kanu’s release with him.
He emphasized that, if released, Kanu would assist him in intervening in areas where people use secessionist agitation to perpetuate criminality.
On the issue of Nnamdi Kanu, his release does not mean that insecurity will be completely eliminated. The call is in the best interest of the South East as a whole.
He (Kanu) was saddened by the level of crime associated with the agitation when I visited him in prison. He called it an abomination.
Everyone has now become a freedom fighter, using it as an avenue to commit a crime. The truth is that if he is released, he will be able to distinguish between genuine freedom fighters and criminals.
What is still holding him back is a political issue. I am awaiting confirmation of appointment with the President to hand him the letter officially, Soludo said.