A former lawmaker in Lagos State, Jude Idimogu, has appealed to President Bola Tinubu to grant clemency to the detained leader of the outlawed Indigenous People of Biafra (IPOB), Nnamdi Kanu.
Mr Kanu, who is facing terrorism charges at the Federal High Court in Abuja, has been in detention since he was repatriated to Nigeria from Kenya in June 2021 under controversial circumstances.
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Call on Igbo leaders, governors
Speaking in an interview with the News Agency of Nigeria on Sunday in Lagos, Mr Idimogu urged Igbo leaders, South-east governors and other Nigerians to speak with one voice by appealing to Mr Tinubu to grant Mr Kanu pardon.
“I want to plead with our President, Asiwaju Bola Tinubu, to kindly see the need to use political means to grant Nnamdi Kanu clemency,” he stated.
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The former lawmaker, a member of the ruling APC, said that such a pardon, if granted, would not be forgotten and would aid the party’s fortune in the South-east in the 2027 general elections.
“I want to appeal to all well-meaning Nigerians, not just those from Igbo extraction, to help plead with Mr President to use his good office to release Nnamdi Kanu.
“If this is done, I believe the insecurity situation and tension in the South- east will reduce, if not completely curbed and eradicated,” he added.
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“It will add to our votes in the South-east. If the president can look at this issue, the South-east will never forget him but forever be grateful,” he said.
‘Miscreants hijacking Biafra agitation’
Mr Idimogu claimed that a lot of miscreants have been using Mr Kanu‘s name to cause mayhem and atrocities in the South-east.
The former lawmaker, who is the deputy leader of Ndigbo in Lagos APC, said that Mr Kanu’s release has many advantages for the South-east and Nigeria.
He said it would de-escalate the tension and revive the region’s economy, considering how the IPOB’s sit-at-home order devastated businesses in the region.
“Mr President, kindly look at the South-east case and bring back businesses and trading that have long stagnated in the region because of insecurity.
“An average Igbo man is a trader. We cannot overlook this situation and the contributions of these traders in the South-east to the economy.
“South-east used to be home to a lot of people before now, it just suddenly changed to be dens of insecurity and other vices. This can be arrested with Kanu’s release,” Mr Idimogu stated.
“Mr President, we know you to be a father with a compassionate heart, please, help us in the South-east, grant Kanu freedom to stabilise our region.”
Background
Mr Kanu was first arrested in 2015 under the administration of former Nigerian President Muhammadu Buhari.
The Court of Appeal, Abuja, held on 13 October 2022 that the IPOB leader was extraordinarily renditioned to Nigeria, and that the action was a flagrant violation of the country’s extradition treaty and also a breach of his fundamental human rights.
The court, therefore, struck out the terrorism charges filed against Mr Kanu by the Nigerian government and ordered his release from the facility of the State Security Service.
But the government refused to release the IPOB leader, insisting that he (Kanu) could be unavailable in subsequent court proceedings if released and that his release would cause insecurity in the South-east, where he comes from.
The government, through the office of the Attorney-General of the Federation, later appealed the court ruling and subsequently obtained an order staying the execution of the court judgement at the Supreme Court.
Delivering judgement on the appeal on 15 December 2023, the Supreme Court reversed the acquittal granted to Mr Kanu by the lower court and consequently ordered continuation of his trial at the Federal High Court, Abuja.
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On 19 June 2025, the Nigerian government closed its case against the IPOB leader after the 5th prosecution witness was led in evidence and cross-examined by Mr Kanu’s lawyer, Onyechi Ikpeazu, before Justice James Omotosho of the Federal High Court in Abuja.
The court has yet to deliver judgement on the matter.
Meanwhile, PREMIUM TIMES reports that several South-east leaders such as governors and successive president-generals of the Igbo socio-cultural organisation, Ohanaeze Ndigbo Worldwide, have repeatedly appealed to the Nigerian government to release Mr Kanu. But the government has ignored the requests.
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