The Alaigbo Development Foundation (ADF), an Igbo think-tank, has called for the immediate and unconditional release of Nnamdi Kanu, the leader of the Indigenous Peoples of Biafra (IPOB).
The demand was made by ADF President, Prof. Ukachukwu Awuzie, during a press conference in Enugu on Sunday following an executive meeting of the group.
Kanu was recently rearraigned by the Federal Government and was denied bail by Justice Binta Nyako at a Federal High Court in Abuja. His legal team has expressed concerns that he cannot receive a fair trial while detained.
At the press conference, Awuzie emphasized that Kanu’s pursuit of self-determination is protected under the United Nations Charter for Human Rights and the African Charter for Human and People’s Rights.
He also expressed concern about the disparity in treatment between Kanu and Boko Haram fighters, noting that the latter group has seen members released and reintegrated into society, with some even being enlisted into the nation’s security forces..
“The ADF calls for the unconditional release of Mazi Nnamdi Kanu, the leader of the Indigenous People of Biafra(IPOB).
“The struggles for self-determination embarked upon by Kanu and his supporters are popular democratic agitations and constitute the fundamental rights enshrined in the United Nations Charter for Human Rights as well as the African Charter on Human and People’s Rights.
“Kanu’s continued incarceration constitutes a spite on social justice and an infringement on his fundamental rights to self expression, especially when viewed against the Federal Government’s attitude of allowing those who had taken up arms against the state to be released, rehabilitated and even reintegrated into the Nation’s security architecture,” he said.