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Human rights activist and pro-democracy campaigner, Omoyele Sowore, has accused top political leaders from Nigeria’s South-East region of secretly working against the release of Nnamdi Kanu, the detained leader of the Indigenous People of Biafra (IPOB).
According to him, they fear Kanu’s freedom could destroy their political futures.
Speaking as a guest on Arise News TV, Sowore disclosed that many prominent figures from the region, including Peter Obi, Anambra State Governor Charles Soludo, and Abia State Governor Alex Otti, have failed to respond to his outreach regarding a planned nationwide protest demanding Kanu’s freedom.
Sowore said, “I once declared on your show that Kanu’s predicament, his ordeal, is as a result of some persons in the South-East who took a decision that his release would jeopardise their political careers and future.”
According to him, as far back as the early days of President Bola Tinubu’s administration, some South-East politicians privately argued that freeing Kanu could affect their electoral chances, particularly during the Imo governorship election.
“I was part of some of the conversations to release him,” Sowore said. “They told me at that time that Imo elections were coming, and if Kanu came out, APC might not win.”
Sowore said that behind the scenes, several South-East politicians publicly call for Kanu’s release but privately take a different stand when meeting with those in power.
“Some of the communiqués you see are just for public show,” he added. “During the day, they talk about justice and fairness, but when they go at night to meet Tinubu, their position changes.”
Sowore said that in the past 24 hours, he had reached out personally to a number of these leaders to mobilise them for the planned protest, but was met with silence and avoidance.
“Some of them I used to be able to reach just switched off their lines,” he said. “Those I sent messages to never responded. I reached out to Soludo, no response till now. I reached out to Alex Otti, who used to be a columnist for SaharaReporters, so I know him personally, but no response either.”
He also mentioned reaching out to Peter Obi, the 2023 Labour Party presidential candidate.
“We were told he’s in Rome,” Sowore recounted. “So I sent a message that he could behave as the Romans do, meaning, join the people in demanding justice.”
Sowore, however, commended Senator Enyinnaya Abaribe, who served as one of Kanu’s sureties before his re-arrest by the Nigerian government, saying Abaribe had agreed to join the protest.
“I reached out to Abaribe, and he responded. He said, ‘I’m in on this.’ I know what he went through when he was arrested for standing surety for Kanu,” Sowore said.
“In fact, I slept on Abaribe’s bed at the DSS facility in 2019 shortly after his release.
He added that some lawmakers from the South-East have also shown support for the protest, but lamented the absence of a unified voice among regional leaders, traditional rulers, and clergy.
He said, “A number of persons have signed up, some of them publicly. But there is no unified response from Southeastern political leaders or traditional rulers or even the religious priesthood there, which many had expected would happen.”
Despite the silence from the political class, Sowore said that thousands of young Nigerians, especially from the South-East, had already signed up to join the protest, which aims to pressure the federal government to release Kanu.
“The Nigerian government is already pushing back because they’ve seen the response to be unequivocal in support of the release of Nnamdi Kanu at this time. I don’t think they were expecting that such a response would be so favourable and swift,” he said.
Sowore also met with former President Goodluck Jonathan on Friday to discuss the ongoing detention of Nnamdi Kanu and to seek Jonathan’s support in the push for his release.
Speaking after the meeting, Sowore stated that while Jonathan would not be issuing any public statements or open positions on the matter, he acknowledged the importance of resolving the issue in a way that promotes national healing and reconciliation.
Sowore also revealed that Jonathan promised to meet with President Bola Ahmed Tinubu to discuss potential solutions.
Nnamdi Kanu’s Predicament Is As a Result of People In The South East Who Decided His Release Will Jeopardise Their Political Careers – Sowore
I started contacting some of them concerning the Kanu protest, and those I used to reach switched off their lines, and there has been no…
