Hot SourceHuman rights activist and former presidential candidate, Omoyele Sowore, has alleged that the continued detention of the leader of the Indigenous People of Biafra, IPOB, Nnamdi Kanu, is being influenced by some politicians from the South-East who believe his release could negatively affect their political ambitions.
Speaking on Arise Television’s Prime Time programme on Thursday, Sowore said he was aware of conversations dating back to the early days of President Bola Tinubu’s administration where some political actors in the region opposed Kanu’s release for fear it could impact the outcome of elections in Imo State.
According to him, despite public statements by some leaders calling for Kanu’s release, many of them privately hold contrary views. He added that his recent efforts to contact South-East governors and other political leaders for coordinated action were mostly ignored.
“I once declared that Kanu’s ordeal is as a result of some persons in the Southeast who took a decision that his release would jeopardize their political careers and future. I know this as far back as when Tinubu freshly became president.
“I reached out to Soludo, who I know personally—no response. I reached out to Alex Otti, who used to be a columnist for Sahara Reporters—no response.
“The only nominal response I got was that we shouldn’t have dragged them where we did. I also reached out to Peter Obi, but I was told he’s in Rome,” Sowore said.
He, however, commended Senator Enyinnaya Abaribe for supporting the move, recalling that the lawmaker had suffered politically for standing as surety for Kanu in the past.
Sowore noted that while several young people across the country have shown strong support for Kanu’s release, there is still no unified position among South-East political, traditional, and religious leaders.
He added that the Nigerian government appears to be pushing back in response to the growing public calls demanding Kanu’s freedom.
