By Deborah Nnamdi
The Presidency has condemned former Vice President Atiku Abubakar’s call for the release of detained Indigenous People of Biafra (IPOB) leader, Nnamdi Kanu, describing it as “political desperation” and “a disgraceful agenda” unbecoming of a statesman.
Atiku had earlier joined a campaign initiated by activist Omoyele Sowore, urging the Federal Government to either release Kanu or ensure his prompt prosecution. The former vice president described Kanu’s continued detention as “an open sore on our nation’s conscience and a stain on our belief in the rule of law,” insisting that defying court orders granting Kanu bail amounted to “an abuse of power and an assault on justice.”
But President Bola Tinubu’s Special Assistant on Media, Temitope Ajayi, in a statement on Thursday, accused Atiku of siding with an “anarchist” for political gain and undermining Nigeria’s judicial process.
Ajayi argued that Kanu was responsible for his prolonged detention, alleging that his legal team had employed delay tactics to frustrate his trial. He noted that the prosecution had already closed its case, and the court had ordered Kanu to open his defence after dismissing his no-case submission.
“The political desperation that will make a former Vice President and a supposed statesman advance this kind of disgraceful agenda is mind-numbing,” Ajayi stated. “If Nnamdi Kanu has stayed long in detention, it is because he and his lawyers have used every trick to stall his trial. No politically motivated protest will change the court’s decision that he must open his defence.”
He further accused Kanu and his followers of orchestrating violence and economic hardship in the South East over the past decade, claiming their actions had “killed, ruined lives, and destroyed tens of thousands of livelihoods.”
Ajayi maintained that it was “unconscionable” for Atiku to demand leniency for someone he described as “an anarchist” while still aspiring to lead the country.
Meanwhile, Sowore has announced October 20 as the date for a planned protest march to the Presidential Villa in Abuja, calling on opposition figures and concerned citizens to join the demand for Kanu’s release.
Kanu, leader of the outlawed IPOB movement advocating for the secession of the South-East, has been in detention since June 2021 after being arrested in Kenya and repatriated to Nigeria. He faces terrorism-related charges before Justice James Omotosho of the Federal High Court, Abuja, who has adjourned his trial to October 16 pending the outcome of a medical evaluation ordered by the court.
