Nnamdi Kanu: Tension Over Massive Deployment of Soldiers to Southeast Ahead of IPOB Leader’s Trial
- Reports say the expected commencement of Nnamdi Kanu's trial on Thursday, October 21 has triggered tension in the southeast
- Soldiers have also been deployed in the region to ensure lives and property are safe ahead of the trial
- Interestingly, another pro-Biafra group, MASSOB, has thrown its weight behind Kanu and condemned the deployment of soldiers to the region
Enugu - A report by the Daily Sun newspaper indicates that there is tension in the southeast region of the country over the trial of Nnamdi Kanu, the leader of the Indigenous People of Biafra (IPOB) on Thursday, October 20.
There are high hopes that Kanu will be brought to court this time after he was not seen in the court premises during previous trial dates.
Source: Getty Images
The report also noted that there has been a huge deployment of soldiers to the southeast ahead of the trial.
On its part, the Movement for the Actualisation of the Sovereign State of Biafra (MASSOB) has warned the federal government not to fail to produce Kanu in court tomorrow.
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It said Kanu’s absence in court would bring devastating destruction to Nigeria and may fuel rumours that he has been killed in the detention of the Department of State Services (DSS).
The group’s leader, Uchenna Madu, in a statement, on Tuesday, October 19 said MASSOB is fully backing the civil disobedience call by IPOB directing people in the southeast to sit-at-home any day Kanu would be brought to court.
Condemning the heavy presence of security forces especially the military in parts of the southeast, MASSOB said those were signs of military jittery, fear, and cowardice.
Ifeanyi Ejiofor, lead counsel for Kanu, has said no plausible excuse will be available to the federal government not to produce the IPOB leader in court on Thursday, October 21.
He wrote on his Facebook page:
“You must all see him live and direct on this date.”
He added that Kanu is overwhelmed by the support he is getting from the southeast, and implored all his supporters to intensify their prayers, and remain vigilant at all times.
Igbo Royal Fathers demand Kanu's immediate release
Meanwhile, traditional rulers in the southeast region have demanded from the federal government the immediate release of Kanu.
The monarchs who made the demand under their umbrella body of South East Council of Traditional Rulers called on President Muhammadu Buhari to release Kanu from detention into the hands of the Igbo traditional and religious leaders.
They also called on the president to show sagacity, pragmatism, statesmanship, and fatherliness by de-proscribing the IPOB as a terrorist organisation.
Ozigbo demands the release of Kanu immediately
Similarly, Valentine Ozigbo, the flag-bearer of the Peoples Democratic Party (PDP) in the forthcoming Anambra governorship election, has called for the release of Kanu from detention.
Ozigbo also called for a different approach in addressing the agitations for self-determination in the country.
He made the call when he spoke at the 2021 Anambra Gubernatorial Debate hosted on Anambra Broadcasting Television, ABS, Awka on Sunday, October 1.
Source: Legit.ng
