Tobias Sylvester
South-East Governors’ Forum says they will President Muhammadu Buhari to discuss the detention and trial of the leader of the Indigenous People of Biafra (IPOB), Nnamdi Kanu.
Chairman of the forum and Governor of Ebonyi State, David Umahi, disclosed this in a statement on Thursday, where he expressed worry about the security challenges afflicting the region due to the various sit-at-home order imposed by the IPOB.
Umahi said they would meet the federal government to ensure that political solutions were deployed in the case of Nnamdi Kanu, who is currently in the custody of the Department of State Services and facing treason-related charges.
The governor also thanked Ohanaeze Ndigbo, traditional rulers, and religious leaders for a good job done through their committees in raising solutions towards addressing issues raised by agitators.
The statement reads, “We are aware of the various illegal orders of sit-at-home by different groups of state agitators for our people of South East to sit at home every Monday and from 5th to 10th November 2021.
“Whereas we have identified some of the spokespersons of some of these groups and we have been engaging them to stop all forms of violence and illegalities in South East and allow South East leaders to address all issues raised by them, we are however working with security agencies, our local security and our leaders to protect the lives of our people and to address all issues raised.
“We thank Ohanaeze Ndigbo for a good job they did through their various committees in raising various solutions towards addressing all issues raised by our young children. South East Governors are studying their reports with the elders and leaders of the various South East States and very soon, we will be meeting with Federal Government of Nigeria on these issues including deploying political solutions in the case of Mazi Nnamdi Kanu which we have already initiated.
“We thank our religious leaders, Conference of Bishops and Archbishops of South East, the traditional institutions of South East and Christian Association of Nigeria of South East for their interventions and mediations on this matter. We will work with them to achieve the desired result for our people and Nigeria,
“We plead with security agencies deployed for Anambra election to secure the lives of our people in Anambra State while playing within the rules of their engagements,” the governors said.
The governors further expressed the confidence that through their mediation in collaboration with the religious leaders, Ohanaeze Ndigbo and traditional rulers, IPOB will see reasons to call off all sit-at-home orders.
This is coming after the South-East Council of Traditional Rulers and representatives of Igbo Archbishops and Bishops had asked the Federal Government to release Nnamdi Kanu.
