Victor Ezeja
Former president of the Igbo think tank, Aka Ikenga, Chief Goddy Uwazurike, has expressed dissatisfaction with the continued detention of Mazi Nnamdi Kanu, leader of the Indigenous People of Biafra (IPOB) by the Nigerian government.
Chief Uwazurike, who is the current president of Cultural Credibility Group, likened the IPOB leader’s case to the trials faced by nationalist freedom fighters like the former leader of South Africa, Nelson Mandela, the first president of Ghana, Kwame Nkrumah, the first president of Zambia, Kenneth Kaunda, and first president of Kenya, Jomo Kenyatta.
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These global figures fought for the emancipation of their people. Mandela was an activist, who fought against the Apartheid regime (racial segregation between Blacks and Whites) in South Africa for which he was imprisoned for 27 years, and later became the first Black president of the country. Nkrumah was a Pan-Africanist, who fought for independence of Ghana from British colonial rule. Just like Nkrumah, Kenyatta and Kaunda were also anticolonial activists, who fought for the independence of their countries from the British colonial empire.
Uwazurike’s comment was in reaction to the continued denial of freedom to Kanu, who had been calling for an independent state of Biafra.
He expressed optimism that no matter how long it takes, Kanu will one day regain his freedom.
The IPOB leader has been in the custody of the Department of State Services (DSS) since he was brought back to Nigeria from Kenya under controversial circumstances in June 2021.
Speaking on Kanu’s travails, Uwazurike said: “The struggle to free Mazi Nnamdi Kanu continues!
“Justice can be suppressed but not forever!!!!
“This case is threading the path of the Mandela, Kaunda, Kenyata and Nkrumah trials.
“One day MNK will exit the tunnel and come back to freedom.”
The Supreme Court on Friday, 15 December 2023, upheld the Federal Government’s appeal challenging the judgment of the Appeal Court which dismissed the charges against Nnamdi Kanu.
The apex court in its ruling insisted that Kanu must continue facing trial of charges bordering on terrorism at the Federal High Court.
The apex court’s ruling dashed hopes of releasing Kanu as earlier ordered by the Court of Appeal.
Victor Ezeja is a passionate journalist with seven years of experience writing on economy, politics and energy. He holds a Master's degree in Mass Communication.
