The presidential candidate of the Nigeria Democratic Congress, NDC, Peter Obi, has pledged to secure the release of the detained leader of the Indigenous People of Biafra, IPOB, Nnamdi Kanu, if elected President of Nigeria.
Mr Obi made the remark while addressing Nigerians during an engagement in Washington, where he spoke on issues of national unity, security, and the government’s handling of separatist agitations.
The former Anambra State governor argued that Kanu’s continued detention was unjustified, maintaining that the IPOB leader should not be imprisoned for expressing his views.
“There’s no reason for keeping Nnamdi Kanu. I will free Nnamdi Kanu as President. He has done nothing wrong. The government has no reason to arrest him because he was speaking and calling people names on radio. It doesn’t make sense,” Mr Obi said.
He added that criticism and name-calling are common features of political life and should not be criminalised.
“Anybody can tell you anything. I’m a politician and people call me all sorts of names, and I don’t think calling me names is an offence. It’s not an offence,” he stated.
Mr Obi also advocated dialogue as a means of addressing agitations across the country, stressing that engagement remains the best approach to resolving grievances.
“If I am in government today, I will discuss with all agitators because I believe that they have a reason for whatever they want to do, and it is only by engaging them that we would learn. But I’m not in a position to do anything today,” he said.
Mr Kanu, who leads IPOB, has been at the centre of legal and political controversies over separatist activities in the South-East. His detention has continued to generate mixed reactions from supporters and critics, with calls for either his release or prosecution in accordance with the law.
