An ad hoc committee of the House of Representatives has called for the unconditional release of the leader of the proscribed Indigenous People of Biafra (IPOB), Nnamdi Kanu, as a step to end insecurity in the Southeast.
The committee was set up to interface with security agencies to reduce kidnapping, assassinations, and banditry in and around Isiukwuato and Umunnochi local government areas of Abia State.
During the sitting on Thursday, the chairman of the committee, Obinna Aguocha, said the release of the IPOB leader is one of the panaceas for peace in the Southeast.
He said the path to security will start with “government’s recognition of the rule of law, justice, and equitable inclusion of the Southeast zone in Project Nigeria and the unconditional release of Mazi Nnamdi Kanu from unlawful detention to ensure lasting peace and security in the entire region.”
Aguocha maintained that government must look at the root cause of the problem in the southeast in order to end the insecurity in the region.
Following his presentation, the committee went into a closed-door session with Abia State Commissioner of Police, Kenechukwu Onwumelie.
Kanu has been in detention since he was brought back from Kenya on June 19, 2021.
The federal government had filed an amended seven-count terrorism charge against Nnamdi Kanu, leader of the Indigenous People of Biafra (IPOB).
The IPOB leader was subsequently re-arraigned on an amended 15-count charge.
On April 8, the trial court struck out eight of the 15 counts in the charge. The remaining seven counts were later quashed by the court of appeal on October 13.
