Nnamdi Kanu Detention: Nigeria Has Igbo Problem – Sowore

The continuous detention of Mazi Nnamdi Kanu, leader of the Indigenous People of Biafra (IPOB), has drawn sharp criticism from Omoyele Sowore, the presidential candidate of the African Action Congress (AAC) in the 2023 general election.

Sowore argues that Kanu’s situation reflects a deeper issue within the Nigerian state regarding its treatment of the Igbo people.

In an interview with Rudolf Okonkwo on 90 Minutes Africa on Sunday, Sowore stated, “Nigeria has an Igbo problem. It’s like when a father is dying; they will tell their children, ‘I have a problem with Igbo people; please continue from there.’” He described Kanu as a victim of the post-civil war treatment meted out to the Igbo.

Kanu initially escaped from Nigeria in 2017 while on bail, facing terrorism charges in a Federal High Court after an invasion of his residence by the Nigerian military. He was arrested in Kenya on June 27, 2021, through collaboration between Interpol and Nigerian security officials and was subsequently brought back to Nigeria in what was termed extraordinary rendition.

On October 22, 2022, the Abuja Court of Appeal declared Kanu’s extradition illegal and ordered his immediate release.

However, the Nigerian government has continued to hold him, filing an appeal at the Supreme Court against the Appellate Court’s order.

While the Supreme Court acknowledged the illegality of Kanu’s extradition, it ruled that this alone was insufficient to secure his release, allowing his continued detention while he faces seven counts related to terrorism at the Federal High Court.

Sowore, who has also experienced detention by the Department of State Services (DSS), expressed disappointment that the Bola Tinubu administration has continued the policies of the previous administration regarding Kanu. “I expected that the first act of Tinubu in office would have been to release Nnamdi Kanu. But the fact that it got worse shows that there is a kind of conspiracy going on,” he stated.

He further revealed that some Igbo elites were complicit in Kanu’s ongoing detention, recalling discussions where the release was postponed until after the election. “And now, after the election, the devil seems to have intervened more strongly,” Sowore added.

Sowore expressed his lack of confidence in the Nigerian judicial system, claiming it is heavily influenced by the president.

Kanu is the official prisoner of whoever is the president of Nigeria. They report his condition to the president daily,” he explained. “There is no way he’s going to get justice from the courts unless the Nigerian state decides to let him go.