- Youth forum said unfair to detain Kanu while other agitators and insurgents are freed by the federal government.
- Obilor insisted power must stay in the south, saying the north had already enjoyed an eight-year presidential term.
The All Igbo Youth Forum has warned that it may pull out of the 2027 general election if Nnamdi Kanu remains in detention.
Kanu, who leads the proscribed Indigenous People of Biafra, is currently facing a seven-count charge bordering on treasonable felony.
He has remained in the custody of the federal government since his controversial extradition from Kenya in June 2021.
There have been multiple appeals from various groups urging authorities to drop the charges and free the separatist leader.
Speaking after a meeting with the deputy speaker of the house of representatives, Benjamin Kalu, the forum’s national president, Mr Chinedu Obilor, announced the suspension of a proposed protest.
Obilor said Kalu informed the delegation that discussions were underway with President Bola Tinubu on resolving the matter.
“We believe the president will listen to the cry of Ndigbo and release Kanu,” Obilor said.
“They cannot leave Nnamdi Kanu and be talking of 2027. Kalu must take our demand to the president urgently.
“If they fail, we will march 10 million strong to Abuja and dare them to jail us all; if they feel they will use Nnamdi Kanu to do politics, we will not agree.
“We’ll mobilise 10 million Igbo youths to march and tell the government we won’t vote if Kanu is not released.”
Obilor said the group had given Kalu a two-month deadline to convey their message to President Tinubu.
He expressed displeasure over Kanu’s continued detention despite the release of other individuals accused of insurgency and terrorism.
The youth leader also criticised the marginalisation of the south-east in federal appointments, describing it as deliberate and unjust.
Obilor stated that any attempt to return power to the north in 2027 would be resisted.
He argued that since the south supported the north during the Buhari administration, power should remain in the south for fairness.
He accused some political figures from the region of sabotaging Kanu’s cause and giving the presidency misleading information.
“How can we say we’re one Nigeria when Igbo people are always excluded?” Obilor asked.
“Any coalition that won’t cede the ticket to the South will not fly.
“Some of them (Igbo leaders) are behind Kanu’s plight and they are deceiving the president.”
He urged President Tinubu to listen to the voice of young people in the south-east rather than rely solely on political elites.
Obilor said most of those advising the president lacked genuine support from the grassroots.
Meanwhile, on July 5, the minister of works, Mr David Umahi, said the release of Kanu was not a political condition for 2027 support.
He clarified that President Tinubu was not behind Kanu’s continued detention and should not be pressured over the issue.
Umahi added that Kanu’s release would eventually come, but through divine intervention and constructive dialogue.
The minister also refuted allegations that the president was sidelining the south-east in terms of federal appointments and projects.
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