Edwin Clark To Buhari: Obey Court Order, Release Nnamdi Kanu
POLITICS DIGEST- South-South Leader, Chief Edwin Clark has asked President Muhammadu Buhari to obey the Court Order and immediately release the leader of the Indigenous Peoples of Biafra (IPOB), Nnamdi Kanu.
In a statement yesterday in Abuja, Clark who is the Leader of the Southern and Middle Belt Leaders’ Forum, SMBLF took a swipe at the Minister of Justice and Attorney General of the Federation, Abubakar Malami, SAN and the subsequent concurrence by the National Security Council at that the judgement of the Court of Appeal only discharged Kanu, describing the position of the Federal Government as not only imperious but needless.
Clark who reiterated that the unity of Nigeria can only be achieved and sustained if every part of the country is treated equally with the other parts, in all ramifications, said that no one can play God over Nigeria and no section owns this country more than any other section, adding that President Buhari should reassure Nigerians of our oneness.
The Elder statesman said that a situation where everybody at a meeting of the National Security Council of the country is almost of the same stock, Hausa/Fulani, is not only unfair but outrageous, stressed that as Nigerians, we need to sit down and have frank discussions about the peace and future of Nigeria, notwithstanding that the general elections are close by because the country is not on the right path.
Again, Clark said that Nigeria must be restructured to correct what he described as the imbalances and make every state equal in the country, stressing that that was why the 2014 National Conference recommended the creation of more states, where the SouthEast was given four additional states and three for all other zones except the North-West, which was allotted two because it already has seven states.
He said if implemented then, it would have made the six geopolitical zones of the country to be at par with nine states, adding that it was regarded as one of the most important recommendations of the conference because it affected every zone of the federation, but, unfortunately, the report is lying fallow in the archives.
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Clark’s statement read, “I have deemed it necessary to issue this statement following reports on the stance of the Attorney General of the Federation and Minister of Justice, Abubakar Malami, and the subsequent concurrence by the National Security Council at its meeting last Friday that the judgement of the Court of Appeal only discharged leader of the Indigenous Peoples of Biafra (IPOB), Nnamdi Kanu, but did not acquit him of the charges for which he was facing trial.
“I consider this stance of the Federal Government as rather imperious and needless. I, therefore, earnestly call on President Muhammadu Buhari to obey the judgement of the Court of Appeal and order the immediate release of Nnamdi Kanu in the interest of peace in the country, the South East Zone, in particular.
“Most Nigerians greeted the judgement of the Court of Appeal with elation, mainly in the South East, where there were reports of widespread jubilations across cities in the Zone. It would, therefore, be detrimental for the federal government to still keep Kanu in detention and provide any pretext for malefactors to continue to take advantage of the situation in perpetrating all sorts of atrocities in the zone.
“Even though certain activities of Nnamdi Kanu and his IPOB followers have been a nuisance and very disturbing, the Federal Government went too far in going all the way to Kenya to abduct him on the ground that he jumped bail.
“Now that the Court of Appeal has given its judgement on the matter, I am imploring the President to obey the judgement of the Court and release the young man, and allow peace to reign. At this time, when insecurity is the order of the day, anything that would enhance the peace and stability of the country must be embraced.
“The issue as to whether Nnamdi Kanu was only discharged and not acquitted by the Court of Appeal has been decided by the Supreme Court to the extent that sometimes a discharge is the end of a case whereas at other times it may not be so regarded.
“Nonetheless, the judgement of the three-member Panel of the Court of Appeal, which discharged Nnamdi Kanu is explicit and total and requires no further theatrics. I take the liberty to cite a Premium Times report of the judgement published on Thursday, October 13, 2022, with the headline”, the statement reads in part.
