The Anambra State Governor, Chukwuma Soludo, has urged the ‘President-elect’, Bola Tinubu, to release the detained leader of the Indigenous People of Biafra (IPOB), Nnamdi Kanu, immediately after swearing-in on May 29, 2023, for the sake of sustainable peace and security in the Southeast region.
Governor Soludo who made the request on Tuesday in his post-election speech in Awka, the state capital said Southeast leaders need Kanu around the table as an important stakeholder in discussions about healing and sustainable peace in the region.
Soludo in January also asked President Muhammadu Buhari’s administration to release Kanu unconditionally, saying that he was ready to stand as a surety for the IPOB leader.
Governor Soludo in the post-election address congratulated Tinubu who was announced the winner of the February 25 presidential election by the Independent National Electoral Commission (INEC) on the platform of the ruling All Progressives Congress (APC).
Soludo said, “Let me also congratulate the ‘President-elect’, Asiwaju Bola Ahmed Tinubu for his election. We congratulate your closest opponents for their courageous and impressive outing. Nigeria needs healing and restructuring, and the fundamental challenges of insecurity and the economy remain humongous.
“We pledge to collaborate and partner with you and the Federal Government for the development of Anambra state and Nigeria. This is the only country that we call ours and we must make it work.
“One critical issue that we must draw your urgent attention to is the issue of systemic insecurity in the Southeast. While our efforts with the security agencies are yielding significant results, we believe that sustainable peace and security will be enhanced through wider non-kinetic engagements with all critical stakeholders.
“In this regard, may I repeat my previous calls and hereby request our ‘President-elect’ to release Mazi Nnamdi Kanu immediately after swearing-in (that is, if he is not released before then). We need him around the table as an important stakeholder in discussions about healing and sustainable peace in the Southeast.”
Kanu, the leader of the secessionist group IPOB was arrested and renditioned to Nigeria from Kenya in June 2021. He has since been detained by the secret police, Department of State Services.