November 27, 2024
By Samuel Ogunsona
Nigeria’s Minister of State for Foreign Affairs, Ambassador Bianca Odumegwu-Ojukwu, has expressed confidence that President Bola Tinubu will release the detained leader of the Indigenous People of Biafra (IPOB), Mazi Nnamdi Kanu.
Speaking during the 13th memorial anniversary of the late Dim Chukwuemeka Odumegwu Ojukwu in Owerri, Ambassador Ojukwu emphasized that President Tinubu understands the importance of Kanu’s release.
She argued that freeing Kanu would expose criminal elements who have used his detention as a cover to perpetrate heinous crimes in the Southeast.
“The release of Nnamdi Kanu is paramount to separating genuine freedom fighters from criminals causing mayhem in the Southeast. Our people face existential threats, and we must act to restore peace.
“President Tinubu understands the importance of Kanu’s release. It will expose the masqueraders behind the violence and help restore order. I will do whatever it takes to ensure His Excellency grants this request,” she stated.
Ambassador Ojukwu also decried the imposition of violent “sit-at-home” orders in the Southeast, which she said contradict the ideals of self-determination and have stifled economic activities in the region.
“Ndigbo are enterprising and their brother’s keepers. We must reclaim our land and continue to propagate the ideals for which Dim Chukwuemeka Odumegwu Ojukwu stood.
“Communities are empty. Our illustrious sons and daughters have fled. Kidnappers now abduct their brothers for ransom. This is not what Dim Ojukwu fought for,” she said.
She called for an end to the violence plaguing the Southeast, emphasizing that the Igbo people are not known for harming their own.
The Minister stressed the need for collective action to reclaim the region from criminality and insecurity..
