CITIZENS COMPASS—Scores of Igbo elders on Wednesday, cited worsening health conditions and growing insecurity in the South East as factors for the urgent release of the detained leader of the Indigenous people of Biafra (IPOB), Mazi Nnamdi Kanu.
The Igbo elders unanimously disclosed this when they stormed the Abia Government House in Umuahia to demand the immediate and unconditional release of the IPOB leader.
They argued that Kanu’s freedom would help restore calm in the region.
The protesters were led by Chief Chukwuemeka Ezebuiro and Chief Chinedu Obilor.
They came from different states in the South East with their converging point at the main entrance of the Abia State Government House in Umuahia, where they submitted a formal appeal to Governor Alex Otti.
Receiving the group on behalf of Otti on Wednesday, Secretary to the State Government, Kenneth Kalu, alongside Chief of Staff, Caleb Ajagba, commended the elders for their peaceful conduct and assured them that their demands would be forwarded to the federal government.
The call adds to earlier appeals by Igbo leaders and groups, including the United Igbo Elders Council, which recently urged President Bola Tinubu to secure Kanu’s release as a step toward restoring peace in the South East.
Kanu, who has been in detention on charges of conspiracy and membership in an unlawful group, remains a divisive figure in Nigeria’s political and security landscape, with his case attracting both national and international attention.
