The governor of Anambra State, Chukwuma Soludo, says he will shift attention to the incoming government of Bola Tinubu if his appeal for the release of the leader of the proscribed Indigenous People of Biafra, Nnamdi Kanu, is not granted by President Muhammadu Buhari.
Soludo has consistently urged President Buhari to free Kanu, who has been held in the custody of the Department of State Services (DSS) since his arrest in July 2021, in a letter dated April 20, 2023.
Governor Soludo said on Channels Television’s Politics Today on Friday that the call for Kanu’s release is a cause he believes in, adding that his newest letter was copied to the President-elect.
“This is a cause that one believes in. Consistently I am an advocate of the rule of law and justice for all and therefore if you look at that letter, that letter is copied to the President-elect Asiwaju Bola Ahmed Tinubu and I want to also believe that a copy has been delivered to his office as it were.
“The Attorney General is also copied in this letter and if President Muhammadu Buhari’s administration fails to take advantage of this opportunity to really rise above every other thing and be a statesman as it were, if the president fails to take advantage of that, we will be pursuing the same thing with the incoming administration,” Soludo said.
Asked what his interest in seeking Kanu’s release is, the governor said it is about long-term sustainable peace and security as well as the development of the South-East region.
He also lamented the sit-at-home being observed in the South-East every Monday, which he claimed Kanu’s supporters introduced as a way to press for his release.
According to the governor, the zone has lost a humongous amount in economic terms due to the persistent sit-at-home.
He also regretted that every criminal gang in the bush now claims to be either freedom fighters or supporters of Nnamdi Kanu, adding that there is a need for the IPOB leader to come out of detention and “separate the substance from the chaff”.
Soludo believes if Kanu is out, he will be able to tell who his real people are and rein in them and the criminals will be isolated.