The Nation Newspaper

Tag: Nnamdi Kanu

  • The Nnamdi Kanu conundrum

    SIR: Speak in his favour and you are labelled an agitator and dammed by the campaigners of one Nigeria.  Speak against him and his followers, IPOB will bring down the roof on your head with a barrage and coteries of blackmail and insults. Then, try playing smart by sitting at the edge or in the middle of the raging arguments and you are called names unprintable.

    So which way or path do we follow on the Nnamdi Kanu conundrum, the Biafran question? Do we continue maintaining the status quo and tensions keep mountain over the fate of Nigeria, in the face of the pervading quest for its balkanisation by the forces pulling its strings apart which IPOB epitomizes or do we tread the difficult path of re-arresting him or a total clampdown on the IPOB for calmness in the nation?

    You may take everything away from Nnamdi Kanu but not the unification his arrest, detention and release has brought to Igboland.  Of a fact and reality,  Igbos now speak closely in one voice as they have collectively agreed on the  marginalization of their zone by the present administration of President Buhari. Since the emergence of APC as ruling party, the region has never had anything close to what we now have in terms of oneness of mind and unity. Leading to reasons why we are all shouting restructuring at the same time with little or no dissenting news whatsoever.

    The federal government must consider listening to voices of its citizens more than carrying a live-rifle against them.  They should engage protesters in conformity with the standards and rules of engagement acceptable internationally, just as they ought to ensure they hear every dissenter out and find a way of reaching out to his or her problems.

    Kanu’s re-arrest should not be the most important decision to undertake now that the country is bleeding from all sides.  Instead, government should spare its muscles it is about flexing with IPOB for Boko haram, herdsmen and other vices plaguing the nation. We must learn to move from trouble while focusing our strength on things that will reposition the country and relaunch us as a force on the planet.

    Nnamdi Kanu and IPOB must on the other hand,  hear the voice of reason and follow their agitation for Biafra in a manner that does not present them as breaching public peace. Anambra’s elections must not be stopped or boycotted for any reason as that exercise is as important to Ndigbo as the air they breathe. Coming from a region with only five states among other regions in Nigeria with six states each, Ndigbo must not be short-changed again in Anambra come November as “exclusion from power is an exclusion from the benefits of power.”

    A word, they say, is enough for the wise.

     

    • Gwiyi Solomon,

     Enugu.

  • Southeast governors meet with IPOB leader, others

    Southeast governors meet with IPOB leader, others

    Southeast governors met Wednesday  with the leader of the Indigenous People of Biafra (IPOB), Nnamdi Kanu’s with a view to finding lasting solution to the issue of the demand for the Actualisation of Biafra.

    Also in attendance at the meeting were elder statesman, Prof Ben Nwabueze and Igbo Youths Movement leader, Evangelist Elliot Uko.

    Chairman of the South East governors’ forum, Dave Umahi of Ebonyi state who read a terse communique said the meeting “agreed that these demands by IPOB should not be absolute”.

    He said, rather, the governors shall immediately engage the leader of IPOB and the entire leadership of IPOB to further meetings and dialogue with a view to quickening the resolutions of all issues amicably.

    Only two of the governors, Umahi of Ebonyi state and Ifeanyi Ugwuanyi were present while deputy governor Nkem Okeke represented the governor of Anambra state.

    Immediately after reading the communique, Nnamdi Kanu’s and his entourage left while the governors resumed sitting.

  • Kanu needs reality check

    Nnamdi Kanu, the controversial leader of the Indigenous People of Biafra (IPOB), was granted bail by a Federal High Court on April 25, after many sympathetic voices had called for his release from prolonged detention for separatist activities. Specifically, Kalu is facing trial for “alleged offences of conspiracy to commit acts of treasonable felony and other related offences.”  Of course, there are conditions attached to his bail.

    Now the Federal Government wants his bail revoked, and it would appear that there are good reasons for this. A report said: “The government is also seeking an order of court directing the arrest and committing Kanu to custody pending trial as well as any such order the court may deem fit in the circumstance.”

    The government’s argument: “The offence for which he is standing trial is not ordinarily bailable, but due to the magnanimity of the court and its quest for justice and fairness, he was granted bail on health grounds. Among the other conditions for his bail is that he should not be seen in a crowd exceeding 10 people and he should not grant any interviews, hold or attend any rallies. And that he should file in court, medical updates of his health status every month. But rather than observing all of the conditions listed above, Kanu, in flagrant disobedience to the court order, flouted all conditions of the bail.”  Furthermore, according to the government, Kanu has taken his rebellion further by inaugurating a so-called Biafra Security Service, which it considers a serious threat to national security and national unity.

    Kanu was characteristically rebellious in his response to the government’s move. When he addressed a crowd on August 27 at the Boys Technical College (BTC) on Faulks Road in Aba North Local Government Area of Abia State, it was clear that the crowd exceeded 10 people; this was contrary to the terms of his bail, and corroborated the government’s position.

    According to a report, “He used the forum to reiterate that there would not be election in Anambra in November or any part of “Biafra Land” even in 2019, unless the group’s clamour for referendum got the blessings of government.”  He was quoted as saying: “I’m a Biafran and we are going to crumble the zoo. Some idiots who are not educated said that they’ll arrest me, and I ask them to come. I’m in Biafra land. If any of them leaves Biafra land alive, know that this is not IPOB.”

    This sounds like the voice of a delusional character who badly needs a reality check.

     

     

     

     

  • I won’t go on exile, Nnamdi Kanu tells supporters

    I won’t go on exile, Nnamdi Kanu tells supporters

    Indigenous People of Biafra (IPOB) leader and Radio Biafra Director Nnamdi Kanu has dared the Federal Government to re-arrest him.

    He is threatening that anyone who attempts to arrest him will be crushed. Kanu spoke yesterday at the Boys Technical College (BTC) on Faulks Road in Aba North Local Government Area of Abia State.

    The IPOB leader, who is being accused by the Federal Government of breaching the bail conditions,  was received by members of IPOB Faulks Road Zone I and some of the group’s sympathisers.

    Describing Aba as the “Spiritual Land of Biafra”, Kanu reassured his supporters that he would not go on exile. He urged them and believers in Biafra  to be strong and resolute.

    He used the forum to reiterate that there would not be election in Anambra in November or any part of “Biafra Land” even in 2019, unless the group’s clamour for referendum got the blessings of government.

    Kanu who paid tribute to those reportedly killed at the National High School in Aba by security agencies said: “Where we are is Biafra land. Aba is the spiritual capital of Biafra land. We started in Aba in 2015 at CKC (Christ the King Catholic Cathedral). That day, heaven authenticated our move that IPOB will restore Biafra and that’s what we’ve come to do. We died in Aba at National High School.

    “They shot and killed us in other places in Biafra land when they were protesting for my release. As our people rest in the grave, we’ll never rest until Biafra is restored. I don’t care what they say in Abuja. I don’t give a damn what they say in Lagos.

    “I’m a Biafran and we are going to crumble the zoo. Some idiots who are not educated said that they’ll arrest me, and I ask them to come. I’m in Biafra land. If any of them leaves Biafra land alive know that this is not IPOB. Tell them that’s what I said.

    “Tell Buhari that I’m in Aba and any person who comes to arrest Nnamdi Kanu inBiafra land will die here. I’ll never go on exile, I assure you.

    “Some people talk about restructuring; are we doing restructuring of Nigeria now? Are we doing fiscal federalism? Are we doing devolution? What we want is Biafra!

    “Forget all the nonsense they write about us. We are not slowing down and no man born of a woman can stop us. They thought we are joking and God gave us a simple message that no one can stop us. The movement to restore Biafra is unstoppable.

    “God sent me to you, Aba people and I am giving you His message. Our veterans here, your own message is that you’ll see Biafra alive, not in death.

    “The message of heaven is what I bring to you. Don’t be afraid. The plans of our enemies are not going to be actualised. The enemies are planning, but we are formidable.

    “We are going to boycott Anambra State election. After Anambra 2017, in 2019, there’ll be no elections in Biafra land. Signed and sealed. My message is that there’ll not be election in Biafra land ever again until they give us date for referendum.”

    Some of IPOB members who spoke to reporters at the venue said that they shunned  church to listen to their leader and a man that God destined to use to liberate the people of the Southeast and the old Eastern Region from the hands of corrupt and insensitive leaders.

    They, however, vowed to join hands with Kanu to ensure that Biafra was realised, no matter how long it would take.

    But two political leaders said that Kanu, like other Nigerians, cannot be above the law.

    Chief Chekwas Okorie, the national Chairman of the United Progressive Party (UPP) said

    “Kanu is a citizen of Nigeria, who is equally entitled to the freedom every citizen enjoys. But as far as the law is concerned, he cannot resist arrest if the need arises. He cannot say nobody can arrest him and no citizen of this country can say so as well. As a citizen, he deserves his freedom which is equally guaranteed under the law, but that is not to say that he is above arrest when he acts against the state. ”

    His National Chairman of Unity Party of Nigeria (UPN) counterpart Prof. Bankole Okuwa said:  “Again, I think Kanu is ignorant of the law. He can be arrested if he is a trouble maker. He can be arrested if he is going to cause trouble in the country. The Federal Government can order his arrest. What the government needs to do is to get a court order. Kanu statement came because people don’t obey the law.

    “They don’t follow what the law says, I must say that politicians create all the problem because most of the politicians are lawless. The government can get him arrested, the Attorney-General can get that from the court and he would be arrested. “

  • ‘Re-arresting Kanu will be Buhari’s greatest mistake’

    ‘Re-arresting Kanu will be Buhari’s greatest mistake’

    The immediate past president of the Ijaw Youth Council (IYC), Worldwide, Mr. Udengs Eradiri, on Monday advised the Federal Government to suspend plans to re-arrest the leader of the Indigenous People of Biafra (IPOB), Nnamdi Kanu.

    Speaking in Yenagoa, Bayelsa State capital, Eradiri, who said the issue should be treated with utmost caution, lamented that government mismanaged earlier opportunities it had to clip the wings of the IPOB leader.

    “Instead the government took steps that made Kanu popular among the masses, especially the youths, in the Southeast, who shared his belief and pledged allegiance to him,” he said.

    He added that calling for the re-arrest of Kanu at a time the government glossed over the quit notice issued to Igbo residents in the north by the Arewa youths would portray the Buhari’s administration as religiously biased.

    He added: “The truth is that the Arewa youths did their own threat to the existence of this country and nothing was done amidst all the calls for the arrest of those people, who threatened others living in other parts of the country under the nose of the government.

    “Nobody said anything. The international community, everybody screamed and nothing was done. Now the federal government is pushing for the re-arrest of Kanu. Can’t you see the mobilisation that Nnamdi Kanu has done in the recent time?

    “Any attempt to arrest him will be resisted because the government seems to be religiously biased. Asari Dokubo sometimes ago didn’t do as much as what the Arewa youths did before he was arrested.

    “OPC leader and Uwazurike were all arrested for similar offences that were not as grave as what the Arewa youths did. So, if you did not arrest Arewa youths and you are calling for Kanu’s arrest, you are going to cause problem in the country.

    “Kanu has a right under the United Nation’s Charter to demand for self-determination. Who was Kanu before the government arrested him? It is the government that mishandled the entire thing and made a hero out of him. Any further mismanagement of this process could lead to a different ball game.”

     

     

  • Anyone who attempts to arrest me will be crushed, says IPOB leader Kanu

    Anyone who attempts to arrest me will be crushed, says IPOB leader Kanu

    The leader of the Indigenous People of Biafra (IPOB) and Director of Radio Biafra, Mazi Nnamdi Kanu has dared the federal government over attempts to re-arrest him, vowing  that anyone who attempts to arrest him would be crushed.

     Kanu stated this on Sunday at Boys Technical College (BTC) located along Faulks road in Aba North Local Government of Abia State where members of IPOB Faulks road Zone I and over 20, 000 supporters of the group received him.

     The IPOB leader who described Aba as the “Spiritual Land of Biafra”, said that he was not going to go on exile, urging his supporters and those who believed in the Biafra course to be strong and resolute.

     He also used the opportunity to reiterate that there won’t be election in Anambra in November or any part of “Biafra Land” even in 2019 unless there was a date for referendum which the group has been clamouring for.

    Kanu who paid tribute to those reportedly killed at National High School Aba by security agencies in his words said “Here we are, is Biafra Land. Aba is the spiritual capital of Biafra land. We started in Aba in 2015 at CKC (Christ the King Catholic Cathedral). That day, heaven authenticated our move that IPOB will restore Biafra and that’s what we’ve come to do. We died in Aba; At National High School.

     “They shot and killed us in other places in Biafra land when they were protesting for my release. As our people rest in the grave, we’ll never rest until Biafra is restored. I don’t care what they say in Abuja. I don’t give a damn what they say in Lagos.

    “I’m a Biafran and we are going to crumble the zoo. Some idiots who are not educated said that they’ll arrest me, and I ask them to come. I’m in Biafra land. If any of them leaves Biafra land alive know that this is not IPOB. Tell them that’s what I said.

     “Tell buhari that I’m in Aba and any person who comes to arrest Nnamdi Kanu in Biafra land will die here. I’ll never go on exile I assure you.

     “Some people talk about restructuring, are we doing restructuring of Nigeria now? Are we doing fiscal federalism? Are we doing devolution? What we want is Biafra!

     “Forget all the nonsense they write about us. We are not slowing down and no man born of a woman can stop us. They thought we are joking and God gave us a simple message that no one can stop us. The movement to restore Biafra is unstoppable.

     “God sent me to you, Aba people and I am giving you His message. Our veterans here, your own message is that you’ll see Biafra alive not in death.

     “The message of heaven is what I bring to you. Don’t be afraid. The plans of our enemies are not going to be actualized. The enemies are planning, but we are formidable.

     “We are going to boycott Anambra State election. After Anambra 2017, in 2019, there’ll be no elections in Biafra land. Signed and sealed. My message is that there ‘ll not be election in Biafra land ever again until they give us date for referendum.”

     Some of IPOB members who spoke to reporters at the venue said that they defied going to church to come and listen to their leader and a man that God has destined to use to liberate the people of the southeast and old eastern region from the hands of corrupt and insensitive leaders who have over the years decided to impoverish than make life meaningful for their subjects.

     They however vowed to join hands with Kanu to ensure that Biafra was realized no matter how long it would take.

  • N/Delta, Middle Belt activists kick over plot to re-arrest Kanu

    N/Delta, Middle Belt activists kick over plot to re-arrest Kanu

    Some activists in the Niger Delta and the Middle-Belt have cautioned the federal government against move to re-arrest the leader of the Indigenous Peoples of Biafra (IPOB), Nnamdi Kanu.

    Kanu is accused of violating his bail conditions.

    The leader of the Afra Descendants Movement (ADM), an Ijaw organisation, Apostle Jene Kalada, said any such action would only exacerbate the mounting ethnic tensions in the land.

    Kalada who spoke in a telephone interview said that the move to re-arrest Kanu was a step in the wrong direction   “since such move negates the spirit of unity the government claims it wants to achieve.”

    He also contended that arresting Kanu is sub-judicial because they have been in court with the federal government since 2008 on the right of Biafrans to self -determination.

    The leader of ADM said, “The federal government should be careful with issues concerning Kanu, they should be aware that if they re-arrest him, millions of IPOB members and Biafra agitators will not watch him put behind bars again.

    “Even animals demand freedom how much more human beings from the bondage that we have been subjected to in Nigeria, Biafrans have every right to seek self-rule as guaranteed by the United Nations’ charter.”

    In a similar vein, Dr. John Danfulani from Southern Kaduna who spoke on behalf of Middle Belt groups warned that any move to re-arrest Kanu could spell doom for the country.

    Danfulani said Kanu had so far conducted his activities peacefully and had done nothing to be labelled a threat to national security even when in fact obvious threats to national security are ignored and allowed to fester.

    He said, “Kanu has every right to seek self determination for Biafra, he has not been violent since he was granted bail by the court so I advise that his case must be carefully handled.”

    “Government should tread with caution because I don’t think millions of IPOB members will tolerate the issue of the re-arrest of Kanu the streets will be busy again and the security agents will be overstretched.”

    “I don’t see the security agents ready and capable of containing the fall out together with the Boko Haram insurgence in the North East. So the best thing to do is to avoid any action capable of causing anarchy in the land.”

    Danfulani, however, advised the federal government to open a channel of discussion directly with Kanu devoid of any third party with a view to reaching a compromise on the factors fuelling the agitation for Biafra.

    The southern Kaduna activist accused the federal government of double standard and hypocrisy by not arresting the Arewa youths that asked Igbo to pack out of the north.

  • Nnamdi Kanu and the Igbo race

    Nnamdi Kanu and the Igbo race

    There abound witty submissions in William Shakespeare’s literary corpus which have shaped methodology of opinions across the world. One such expression which I admire a lot is “I have come to bury Caesar, not to praise him.” In this piece, I am minded to squeeze that spectacular statement to extract tangible elements in order to lend my voice in the Biafra/Nigeria imbroglio. In my own case, I have come to praise Nnamdi Kanu, not to bury him. I am sure my reconstruction of Shakespeare’s celebrated statement will resonate across the country and possibly draw variety of reactions. There are those who conceive Kanu as an opportunistic nitwit and a nonentity whose followers are victims of schizophrenic maniac. People with such mindset are envious of Kanu’s sanctimonious grandeur. Well, he is not any of those and his followers are focused. He is a hero, a saviour, the liberator of the Igbo race, one who is committed to save his people from the emasculating socio-political stranglehold of Nigeria. Although Ojukwu made attempts in that direction, he failed woefully and fled the country after sacrificing over three million souls of Igbo people including women and children. Kanu has a different mission and I am ready to resist attitudes that will imbrue his immaculate personality.

    Kanu emerged in Igbo land at a time when the enclave desperately needed someone to lead them. Although many have inferred that he has not distinguished himself in business, in politics or in academics to qualify him for such a task, we must accept him as God sent, in the same way Moses was sent to deliver the children of Israelites in spite of his speech impairment. I have heard people draw a parallel between Kanu and Ojukwu. I think the comparison is grossly misplaced because Kanu is more of a warrior, has more charisma and is less ambitious. Ojukwu was Oxford trained, Kanu is UNN trained even if many posit that he dropped out and didn’t complete his education as if it matters in Nigeria. After all many senators, distinguished persons and politicians never saw the four walls of a university yet they have all manner of degrees, so why should Kanu’s case be an exception? Ojukwu was a military officer who had a career; his followership was drawn from distinguished people from the South East not just in Igbo land. Kanu’s career is shrouded in mystery, his followership is a gargantuan crowd, real or imagined drawn from mostly the uneducated who were not born during the war and therefore do not understand the nuances of violence, bloodshed and the ingredients of warfare. Kanu’s followership is in sync with modern trend where the people, ravaged by poverty and crippled by need, must engage themselves in any activity even if it means satisfying the whims of the upper class lounger to their own inevitable detriment. A colleague of mine last week queried me to know why Kanu has not designed any effective economic prognosis that will drive the Biafran dream like Martin Luther King did. I humbly begged him not to diminish Kanu by comparing him with Martin Luther. The “I have a dream” exponent belonged to another class; Kanu belongs to a different class. I leave you to draw the distinction.

    Kanu is a man of the people, his popularity is underscored by the number of people who troop out to greet him whenever he is driven around major towns in Igbo land in his Limousine. After all, a man of the people should show affluence which must contrast with the agonizing and impoverished status of those he wants to deliver. A certain lady got me really angry in a forum in Lagos recently when she argued that Kanu lives like a billionaire although he has no known means of income or any history of sustained entrepreneurship. As the lady rattled on, I turned around to give her a wicked look which made her disappear immediately. How shallow women can be sometimes. There are politicians in Nigeria who have never engaged in any meaningful business, yet they are billionaires. So why should it matter if Kanu advances the frontiers of opulence in indolence symptomatic of Nigeria’s socio-political aviary?

    I am deeply miffed when people argue that while Kanu’s wife and children are in the UK living a fulfilled life, he calls out the children of Igbo people to the streets to be wasted by both aimed and stray bullets. I have never heard or read anything more myopic. If my children are so docile to be deceived by a call to the streets where their blood will be used to litter the ground, let it be so. Kanu has no blame in the matter. His duty is to make the call and the people have the onus to either honour the call or ignore it. In the event that internecine war erupts resulting in carnage and mindless loss of lives, Kanu, the modern hero of the Igbo race should quickly fly out to the UK, he is a British citizen. We are ready to stay here and take the bullets, those of us who are disadvantaged to the extent that we do not have dual citizenship. I hear that Kanu has embraced Judaism as a personal religion and will make it a state religion should Biafra become a reality. If he has said Judaism is the religion for Biafra, let us all queue up behind him and bid farewell to Christianity which accounts for 90% of faithful Igbo. I support his religious inclinations; therefore let him give us literary manuals of the religion where the tenets are graciously outlined. His words are law and no mere mortal should oppose him.

    In the event that Biafra is actualized, Kanu should be made the life President, the Emperor and the everlasting spiritual head. Under Kanu I see a Biafra free from dictatorship, a land where milk and honey will flow endlessly, a land without any challenges, where our major item of export will be criminality of Oscar winning proportion, never mind the events of Ozubulu and Evans the rascal who didn’t play his cards well. Niger Delta can go with their oil, we will by manipulation and subtle subversion of cosmic order, design our own economic mainstay where dollars will fall from Heaven. By the way, God rained manner for the Children of Israel and because we are Igbo, God will do anything for us. In the event that Biafra becomes a reality, our sons and daughters all over Nigeria who have made significant progress in commerce and industry should abandon everything and return to Biafra. Nigeria has not been fair to the Igbo therefore, as we quit Nigeria, let us also uproot our intellectual and physical investments, relocate to Biafra, a land flowing with milk and honey. In Kanu we trust and in Biafra we will sing the songs of liberty.

     

    • Adiele is of the Department of English, Unilag.
  • FG wants court to revoke Kanu’s bail

    FG wants court to revoke Kanu’s bail

    The Federal Government has approached the Federal High Court, Abuja, seeking the revocation of the bail granted the leader of the Indigenous People of Biafra (IPOB), Nnamdi Kanu.

    The application was attached to a statement issued on Friday by the Special Adviser on Media and Publicity to the Minister of Justice, Mr. Salihu Isah.

    Kanu was granted bail on April 25.

    The government is also seeking an order of court directing the arrest and committing Kanu to prison pending trial as well as any such order the court may deem fit in the circumstance.

    The federal government said the application is sequel to Kanu’s breach of his bail conditions.

    It said: “The 1st defendant (Kanu) is standing trial for alleged offences of conspiracy to commit acts of treasonable felony and other related offences before this court.

    “The offence for which he is standing trial is not ordinarily bailable but due to the magnanimity of the court and its quest for justice and fairness, he was granted bail on health grounds.

    “Among the other conditions for his bail is that he should not be seen in a crowd exceeding 10 people and he should not grant any interviews, hold or attend any rallies.

    “And that he should file in court, medical updates of his health status every month. But rather than observing all of the conditions listed above, Kanu, in flagrant disobedience to the court order, flouted all conditions of the bail.”

    According to the government, Kanu has in furtherance to the offence he was charged, inaugurated a so called Biafra Security Service (BSS), an act it describes as a grave threat to national security and unity of the country.

    An affidavit deposed to by Loveme Odubo, a litigation clerk in the Ministry of Justice, claimed that Kanu held a rally at his residence in his hometown, Afara-UkwuIbeku in Umuahia, Abia.

    And that the rally, with a crowd exceeding 10 persons, was captured in a video published on June 1 and circulated around the country through YouTube.

    He further deposed that the bail granted Kanu was to enable him take care of his health and not for any other purpose.

    In a written address attached to the application, the government wants the court to determine whether the defendant violated the bail conditions set by the court to warrant the revocation of same.

    Kanu is standing trial along with Chidiebere Onwudiwe, Benjamin Madubugwu, David Nwawuisi and Bright Chimezie on treasonable felony charges.

    Justice Binta Nyako had on April 25, admitted Kanu to bail on stringent conditions, but had denied bail to the other defendants standing trial with him.

    The matter was adjourned till July 11 for trial but could not go on because the court commenced its annual vacation on July 10 and a new date of October 17 was fixed for commencement of trial.

  • IPOB, non-violent, peaceful mass movement – Kanu

    IPOB, non-violent, peaceful mass movement – Kanu

    The Indigenous People of Biafra (IPOB) will never resort to armed conflict or rebellion, notwithstanding the killings, arrest and arbitrary detention of its members, says its leader, Nnamdi Kanu.

    Kanu said this in an interview with newsmen at his Afara-Ukwu, Umuahia country home, on Wednesday, while reacting to President Muhammadu Buhari’s national broadcast on Monday.

    He, however, said that the group had formed a security outfit, known as ‘Biafra Security Service’ to checkmate the activities of suspected herdsmen in the South-East.

    “IPOB is a peaceful mass movement.

    “It is non-violent and our people carry no arms; so, it is wrong for anybody to compare the group with a terrorist group such as Boko Haram.’’

    “There is no record of where people fought or engaged in open altercation in any of IPOB gatherings.

    “We are the most disciplined, well-behaved mass movement anywhere on the face of the planet.”

    He, therefore, implored Buhari to adopt a peaceful approach and dialogue rather than threat in dealing with separatist groups in the country.

    Kanu said it would be counter-productive for security agencies to apply the same measure used against Boko haram insurgents on IPOB.

    According to him, the plan to use brute force rather than dialogue to deal with Biafran agitators will not work.

    “In this debate for freedom, everybody has to be heard.’’

    He expressed dissatisfaction with the comparison of IPOB to Boko haram, which he described as an “internationally recognized terrorist organisation”.

    “It is well-known that IPOB has remained a peaceful, non-violent organisation since its formation,’’ Kanu said.