Nigeria’s Minister of State for Foreign Affairs Bianca Ojukwu has called for calm over the life imprisonment of Nnamdi Kanu, leader of the outlawed Indigenous People of Biafra (IPOB).
In an X post on Friday, Mrs Ojukwu, who is wife of Biafra war lord Odumegwu Ojukwu, said she only returned from Zanzibar, Tanzania, to hear of Mr Kanu’s conviction and sentencing.
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“This is not the outcome we anticipated, nor prayed for, but a reality that is now upon us,” she said of the conviction.
Continuing, she said: “There comes a time in the history of a people when there is a need for calm.
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“I therefore advise Ndigbo, and Nigerians as a whole, that such a period is now! There is utmost need to exercise.”
The minister, who hails from the South-east as Mr Kanu, also called for dialogue as a way to engineer a political solution for the release of the IPOB leader.
“This situation requires careful reflection and constructive dialogue involving all Igbo stakeholders, governors, senators, members of the House of Representatives, clergy, traditional rulers, politicians and business people to engage with government authorities collectively,” she said.
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“The most effective path toward resolution of this crisis is dialogue.”
‘Resolution still possible’
Mrs Ojukwu appealed to all Igbo-speaking of the South-east and Nigerians in general to curtail all actions concerning Mr Kanu’s conviction which could “escalate the situation at home or in the diaspora. ”
The minister assured Nigerians that the resolution of Mr Kanu’s situation was still possible despite his conviction.
“I would like to reassure Ndigbo, Nigerians and our foreign partners that there are still prospects of resolving this impasse in a manner that reduces national anxiety and societal trauma,” she said, emphasising the need for calm and patience.
She then called for cooperation of South-east leaders in the quest for a political solution to the IPOB leader’s conviction and imprisonment.
“Now is the time for us all in Ala Igbo (Igbo land) to put all hands on deck, and to have a joint engagement, sincerely, involving all the South-eastern states, to seek a political resolution to this matter,” she added.
Conviction, sentence
PREMIUM TIMES earlier reported that Mr Kanu was on Thursday convicted at the Federal High Court in Abuja after being found guilty on all the seven counts filed against him by the Nigerian government.
READ ALSO: Nnamdi Kanu moved to Sokoto prison – Lawyer
The trial judge, James Omotosho, consequently sentenced him to life imprisonment for terrorism.
Mr Omotosho also ordered that he be prevented from having access to mobile devices and broadcast equipment except under the watch of security operatives.
On Friday, barely 24 hours after the ruling, Aloy Ejimakor, the former special counsel to Mr Kanu, announced that the IPOB leader had been moved from the facility of the State Security Service (SSS) to a prison facility in Sokoto State.
The SSS spokesperson, Favour Dozie, had neither denied the claim nor responded to an enquiry from PREMIUM TIMES on the development.
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