Igbo National Council Warns FG: Nnamdi Kanu’s Arrest May Trigger Heavy Protests
- The federal government has been cautioned by the Igbo National Council as regards the rearrest of Nnamdi Kanu
- The southeast group warned that the arrest of Kanu might spark protests in some parts of the country
- The group further advised the government to resolve agitations in the country through dialogue and restructuring
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Owerri - The Igbo National Council, INC, on Tuesday, July 29 advised the federal government to tread with caution on the arrest and extradition to Nigeria of the leader of the Indigenous People of Biafra, IPOB, Mazi Nnamdi Kanu.
The INC president Chilos Godsent made the position of the group known in a statement sent to journalists hours after the reports of the arrest of Kanu.
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Consequences of IPOB leader's arrest
According to him, the IPOB’s leader arrest could spark protests across the southeast if not well managed by federal authorities.
Vanguard newspaper quoted him as saying:
“We wish to advise the federal government of Nigeria to tread with caution as the arrest and detention of Mazi Nnamdi Kanu is capable of heightening the tension in Nigeria in view of the fragile state of the Nigerian state.
“The arrest may trigger heavy protest in many parts of Nigeria if care is not taken in handling the issue.
“INC, therefore, advises the federal government of Nigeria to seek for a more peaceful means to resolve the root causes of the agitations by the various component ethnic nationalities in Nigeria seeking for proper structuring of Nigeria and grant of rights to self-determination.
“On the foregoing, the Igbo National Council Worldwide is still studying the situation and will respond appropriately at the right time.”
Southeast group wants leaders of herders arrested
Similarly, the Daily Sun newspaper reports that the Coalition of South East Youth Leaders, (COSEYL) has urged the federal government to also arrest the leaders of the Miyetti Allah.
According to COSEYL, leaders of the pastoralists group should be apprehended for their unbridled utterances.
The group further described the arrest of Kanu as an infringement on his fundamental human rights.
Earlier in the day, elder statesman and Second Republic aviation minister, Mbazulike Amechi, told the federal government to give Kanu a fair hearing.
Amechi said Kanu should be assumed innocent until he is found guilty by a court of competent jurisdiction.
He also said the federal authorities should be cautious about the way they will handle Kanu, and the way they will handle his case.
Legit.ng had earlier reported that Abubakar Malami, the Attorney-General of the Federation and Minister of Justice, announced Kanu's arrest at a press conference on Tuesday, June 29.
Malami also gave hint that Kanu will be taken to the Federal High Court where he had jumped bail.
He stated that Kanu was arrested on Sunday, June 27 outside the shores of the country.
Source: Legit.ng
