The House of Representatives’ Minority Caucus, comprising 180 lawmakers, on Tuesday, joined the call for the release of the leader of the separatist Indigenous People of Biafra, Nnamdi Kanu, who has been in custody since 2021.
He is being prosecuted by the Federal Government on treason charges, based on his push for the breakaway of the Igbo from Nigeria.
In a meeting held in Abuja on Tuesday, over 180 lawmakers elected on the platform of minority political parties joined the call for Kanu’s release following the adoption of a motion moved at the special meeting of the caucus on Monday night by Obi Aguocha, representing Ikwuano/Umuahia North/ Umuahia South Federal Constituency, Abia State.
In a statement on Tuesday, he urged his colleagues to take a definitive position on the ongoing lobby to explore possible political solutions to the continued detention of the IPOB leader.
The Minority Caucus is made up of the lawmakers on the platform of the Peoples Democratic Party, which has 115 seats; the Labour Party, 35; the New Nigeria Peoples Party, 19; and the All Progressives Grand Alliance, with five seats.
Others are the Social Democratic Party, with two seats; the Young Progressives Party and the African Democratic Congress with two seats apiece.
Aguocha emphasised the importance of a common front within the Minority Caucus, noting that the resolution on Nnamdi Kanu’s case was crucial for national peace, stability, and unity.
“Today, the opposition parties have taken a decisive stand on Mazi Nnamdi Kanu, the planned protest, insecurity, the dilapidated infrastructure, and the economy,” Aguocha said.
This is just as he called for immediate and strategic engagement with relevant stakeholders to advocate for a peaceful and political resolution to the matter, which he said, “has significant implications for the socio-political landscape of Nigeria.”
He added that dialogue and reconciliation, rather than a prolonged abuse of legal processes and confrontation, remained the best option to deal with the matter.
The Tuesday call by the Reps comes about two weeks after senators from the South-East, led by Senator Ehinaya Abaribe, met with the Attorney General of the Federal and Minister of Justice, Lateef Fagbemi (SAN), calling for the withdrawal of charges against Kanu.
Earlier at their last meeting, the South-East Governors’ Forum had also resolved to meet with President Bola Tinubu to ask for Kanu’s release, saying it was key to ending the insecurity in the South-East.
