Emmanuel Ugwu-Nwogo in Umuahia
Adherents of Judaism in the South-east region and part of South-south yesterday pleaded with President Bola Ahmed Tinubu to exercise his presidential prerogative and release Nnamdi Kanu from detention.
They made the plea after a prayer and fasting session with a peaceful solidarity rally at the home of the leader of the Indigenous People of Biafra (IPOB) at Isiama Afaraukwu, Umuahia, Abia State.
Apart from pleading with Tinubu, the Jewish worshippers also urged Abia Governor, Dr. Alex Otti, to rally his brother governors in South-east to plead with Mr. President to release Kanu for them.
Kanu, who professes the Jewish religion, has been in the custody of the Department of State Services (DSS) since his extraordinary rendition from Kenya over four years ago.
Delegations of Eastern Judaism and various Jewish communities from Anambra, Enugu, Ebonyi, Imo, and Rivers states gathered at Kanu’s home where they joined their host congregation to pray for Kanu’s freedom and good health. They also prayed “for return to normalcy in all the communities ravaged by Fulani herdsmen and bandit attacks.”
Singing their religious songs in solidarity with their detained member, the Jewish community people carried placards to express their feelings and demands on Mr. President. Some of the placards read: ‘Free Nnamdi Kanu, he committed no crime known to the law’; Eastern Judaism calls for release of Nnamdi Kanu from DSS detention; ‘Obey Court order Tinubu’; ‘Free Nnamdi Kanu’, among others.
Speaking at the rally, leaders of the Jewish communities raised their collective voice to earnestly demand for Kanu’s freedom, saying that he has not done any wrong” to be clamped into detention and charged with treason.
Deputy National Rabbi of Biafra land, Rabbi Okezie Anosike, noted that there was no reason for Kanu to be in detention because “what he is demanding is not different from what Sunday Igboho is demanding for the Yoruba nation, and yet he is free.
“We ask President Tinubu to set Kanu free. We ask Governor Otti to do all in his power to bring freedom to Kanu,” he said.
Anosike prayed and expressed optimism that nothing bad should happen to the IPOB leader given his poor state of health under DSS custody.
Ofuji Ekhad, who led the Anambra delegation queried why Kanu’s case “should be different from others” that demanded sovereign states for their own people, especially in South-west.
According to him, “There is nothing abnormal in Kanu’s demand for sovereign state of Biafra,” adding that self-determination is a universally recognised right.
In his remarks, Elder Shahum Ogu from Imo State, urged “all political leaders, connected in one way or the other with Kanu’s travails to please have a change of heart and work for his release.
He described Kanu as “a prophet, a messenger of God, who advocates for justice, equity, and people’s rights,” adding that President Tinubu has nothing to lose by setting him free.
The woman leader of the Eastern Judaism and Jewish Community, Mrs. Ugochinyere Onuoha, declared that “We have come to let the whole world know that Kanu has done no wrong, and committed no offence against the Nigerian state.
“We are asking for Kanu’s freedom and asking God to deliver him from the ordeal he is facing,” she said.
Even a 12-year-old boy from the Enugu delegation, Michael Ndubuisi, added his voice in pleading with Tinubu to free Kanu from detention.