Biafra News: Counsel Attacks Soludo, Tells FG To Release Kanu To Nigerians

Ifeanyi Ejiofor, a lawyer for Mazi Nnamdi Kanu, the fugitive leader of the outlawed Indigenous People of Biafra, has argued that Kanu should be returned to Nigerians rather than Charles Soludo, the governor of Anambra State.

At the All Progressives Grand Alliance’s Saturday campaign launch in the state capital of Awka, Soludo demanded Kanu’s immediate and unconditional release.

On October 13, an Appeal Court order released Kanu, who had been detained since 2021. A few days later, however, the Federal Government requested a stay of execution, which the Appeal Court approved.

In a recent development, Soludo recently urged to the public at a rally to specifically release Kanu “unconditionally and immediately,” saying he was willing to act as a guarantor to make that happen.

He said, “I am making a passionate appeal to the Federal Government to release Mazi Nnamdi Kanu unconditionally. If he cannot be released unconditionally, I want him released to me and I will stand surety for him.

“We need Nnamdi Kanu in the roundtable conversation to discuss the insecurity in the South-East. We must end insecurity in the South-East and we need Nnamdi Kanu to be around.”

In response, Ejiofor stated that while the governor’s speech was made for “campaign purposes,” Soludo’s appeal for Kanu’s unconditional release was in keeping with the court’s October 13 ruling.

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Kanu, he claimed, should only be released to Nigerians and not to Soludo, who “has been silent” since the court order releasing Kanu, according to Ejiofor.

Ejiofor, in an interview with Saturday PUNCH, said, “We welcome Soludo’s call for Nnamdi Kanu’s unconditional release. It is in line with the judgment of the Court of Appeal, which had directed, since October 13, 2022, his unconditional release.

“That is the extant order of the court – that he should be released unconditionally and be allowed to go a free man. He is illegally held in the custody of the Department of States Services.

“We need to clarify that the issue of asking the Federal Government to grant him the request to be a surety to Kanu does not arise because we have gone beyond that level; even the amended charge filed against Kanu has been quashed. As such, there is no charge pending against him as of today in any court.

“So, the issue of releasing Kanu to Soludo does not arise. He has been freed, discharged and acquitted. We should be talking of asking the government to obey the order of the court, which directed for his unconditional release.”

Speaking further, Ejiofor said he was surprised that Soludo would call for Kanu’s release to him on the day that his party’s campaign began in Awka.

“Why did Soludo make this statement the day he started his campaign? He has been silent since the court order was given. People will see it as a campaign strategy or statement.

“He has been there since October 13, 2022, but he said nothing. Nobody has called on the Federal Government to comply with the court order since then. Of course, everybody knows this is a political statement.

“Kanu is illegally detained as it stands today. What we want the FG to do now is to comply with the court order,” he added.