Kanu must not die in custody, Ohanaeze warns

Apex Igbo socio-cultural organisation, Ohanaeze Ndigbo, yesterday, warned that the leader of the Indigenous People of Biafra (IPOB), Nnamdi Kanu, should not die in custody of the Directorate of State Services (DSS).

It lamented the deteriorating health of Kanu, reiterating its earlier position that his issue should be solved politically and not by force or law.

Reacting to reports from his attorney, Ifeanyi Ejiofor, on his health condition, Ohanaeze, in a statement by its National Publicity Secretary, Dr Alex Ogbonnia, insisted that Kanu should be granted access to his doctor for an independent review of his current health condition.

Ejiofor had, on Monday, raised the alarm that Kanu “is currently suffering from gastrointestinal illness, which necessitates the constant use of antacids and other available medical treatments.”

He said: “The DSS has refused to allow him to have even the smallest amount of prescribed painkiller, which could have given him short-term respite.”

The Igbo socio-cultural organisation said the report should be worrisome to any fair-minded patriotic Nigerian.

It said: “This is because it is self-evident that the Kanu phenomenon is a product of circumstances. It is rather an outcome or the effect of orchestrated alienation of the South East from the centres of power in Nigeria, especially since the onset of President Muhammadu Buhari’s administration.

“Patriots such as Chief E K Clarke, Chief Ayo Adebanjo, Chief Olusegun Obasanjo, Aminu Waziri Tambuwal, Dr. Bitrus Porgu, among others, have decried the unjust treatment of the Igbo of the South East. The Federal Government of Nigeria has been unfair to the Igbo. In all socio-economic activities, the Igbo are not part of the nation.

“President General of Ohanaeze, Prof. George Obiozor, has, on several occasions, advised President Buhari that the issue of Kanu is beyond the courts or the use of force, advising that it requires a political solution.

Obiozor urged Federal Government to embrace the values of justice, equity and fairness for real peace, progress, unity and development to thrive in Nigeria.

“Obiozor had also argued that, all over the world, the moment the populace become conscious of the existence of governance based on selective morality, outrageous paradox and double standards, the expected legitimacy from the people becomes unattainable.”