Igbo Lawyers clash on who Mazi Nnamdi Kanu represents

#EndSARS: FG accuses some countries of aiding Nnamdi Kanu; more accusations

Lawyers from Igbo Land are clashing over who Mazi Nnamdi Kanu represents. This is based on various interviews and comments gathered by GBETU.

 

Mazi Nnamdi Kanu, leader of the Indigenous People of Biafra (IPOB), was recently abducted by the Nigerian Government from Kenya as a British citizen, but the government have repeatedly denied it saying its a joint effort between countries they have refused to mention.

 

With his re-arrest trial set for July 26th, same day as Omoyele Sowore and Ibrahim Zakzaky, many Igbos are expecting their best lwyers to stand beside Nnamdi Kanu’s lawyer, Ifeanyi Ejiofor.

 

Nnamdi Kanu Is Not Speaking For Igbos – Emekesiri

Barrister Emeka Emekesiri, Founder of the Customary Government of IPOB has accused Nnamdi Kanu of building a “cult of gangsters.”

 

Emekesiri said that Kanu hijacked IPOB from him and the originators of the group.

 

The constitutional lawyer also noted that Kanu was not speaking for the people of Southeast.

 

He stressed that his faction of IPOB was working towards actualising Biafra with submissions made at the National Assembly and court.

 

 


However, Emekesiri insisted that Kanu’s re-arrest does not affect the pursuit of Biafra’s agitation by his faction of IPOB.

 

Namdi Kanu represents 99.9% Ndigbo’ – Methodist Bishop

The Bishop, Methodist Church Nigeria, Onitsha Diocese, Rt Rev. Biereonwu Livinus Onuagha, Tuesday, said that the detained leader of the Indigenous People of Biafra, IPOB, Mazi Nnamdi Kanu, might have exhibited youthful exuberance, but that he is representing 99.9 percent of the Igbo and the entity called Biafra.

 

This is just as lawyers from the South-East are mobilising in support of Ifeanyi Ejiofor, counsel to the Mazi Kanu.

 

Bishop Onuagha also said that Mazi Kanu is an asset not only to the Igbo but to entire Southern Nigeria, adding that any Igbo person openly criticizing him now he is embattled is a lost soul, a bastard and a naive person and he has no apology for using such words.

 

Bishop Onuagha also said that a handcuff in the hands of Mazi Kanu is a handcuff in the hands of every Igbo, saying that in a country dominated by ethno-religious identity politics, anyone throwing his own under the bus is making the biggest blunder one could commit.

 

Bishop Onuagha in a press statement, entitled, “My take on Nnamdi Kanu: Nnamdi Kanu is not the problem of Nigeria” and made available to newsmen in Onitsha said that as long as Northerners are still standing with Pantami, Gumi, Miyetti Allah and others, he will stand with Nnamdi Kanu.

 

Bishop Onuagha said that Nigeria is not working and can never work until something drastic is done about its lopsided structure, adding that what is happening in Nigeria is total injustice, calculated intimidation, sidelining and enslaving a group of people, adding that those that are benefiting from the systematic injustice will never allow the current system to be tampered with.

 

Bishop Onuagha’s statement read in part: “In the last few days, there have been mixed feelings in the nation of Nigeria.

 

 


“It is no longer news that Nnamdi Kanu has been arrested. Many people have their opinion on this and they are entitled to them. I am equally entitled to mine.

 

“Some people are rejoicing that Nnamdi Kanu has been arrested. Others are not happy because of that. The chase after Nnamdi Kanu is a misplaced priority.

 

“To me, any Igbo person openly criticizing Kanu now is a lost soul, a bastard and a naive person. No apology.

 

“Those Igbo rejoicing like Joe Igbokwe in Lagos is only being ignorant of the hand writing on the wall. Let me refer him to the Scripture if he reads his Bible:

 

“By the rivers of Babylon, there we sat down, and there we wept, when we remembered Zion. There on the poplars we hung our harps; for the wicked carried us away captivity, and required from us a song. How can we sing the Lord’s song in a strange land?”(Psalm 137: 1-4.)

Igbo Lawyers clash on who Mazi Nnamdi Kanu represents
Igbo Lawyers clash on who Mazi Nnamdi Kanu represents

“Joe Igbokwe does not know or understand that handcuffs on the hand of the leader of the Indigenous People of Biafra, IPOB, is handcuffs on the hands of every Igbo man. If I may ask, why is Joe Igbokwe thanking God for the arrest of Nnamdi Kanu?

 

“If I take a look at the apartheid policy in South Africa, the legend of our time- Daddy Nelson Mandela, he spent 27 years in prison to emancipate his people.

 

“He died in the struggle. Joe Igbokwe is only being selfish. How many of his investments are in Onitsha, Enugu, Awka, Abakaliki, Umuahia and Owerri? He is only making himself as a Tobias or Samballat.

 

 


“I listened to Senator Victor Umeh talk about the ideology of Nnamdi Kanu where he said Kanu may have spoken like a young man he is but there is truth in all he is saying.

 

“Can somebody tell me why Nigeria is insisting that Biafra should not be self governed? Is the Igbo man in the second agenda of this government?

 

“In a country dominated by ethno-religious identity politics, throwing your own under the bus is the biggest blunder anyone could commit. As long as the Northerners are still standing with Pantami, Gumi, Miyetti Allah, etcetera, I will stand with Nnamdi Kanu.

 

“Nnamdi Kanu may have his youthful exuberance but he is representing 99.9% of the Igbo and the entity called Biafra. This is no time to openly talk about his mistakes.

 

“Like every human being, he is not infallible. He has his Achilles’ heel and its attendant hubris. Even with his mistakes, Nnamdi Kanu is an asset not only to Ndigbo but to Southern Nigeria as a whole. His courage has earned my respect.

 

“He is the catalyst providing oxygen to all the agitations in the South today, be it Biafra or Oduduwa. The question is, the injustice and oppression that Kanu is fighting, are they real or imagined? Of course, even the blind can see them.

 

“You may not know the value of a mad man in your family until herds of other madmen invade your ancestral home.

 

“Nigeria is not working and can never work until something drastic is done about its lopsided structure. What is happening in Nigeria is total injustice, calculated intimidation, sidelining and enslaving a group of people.

 

“Make no mistake, those that are benefitting from the systematic injustice will never allow the current system to be tampered with.”

 

Igbo lawyers mobilise for Nnamdi Kanu, demand fair trial

In another development, the Igbo Lawyers Association, ILA, has said it is mobilizing other lawyers to work with Barr. Ifeanyi Ejiofor, counsel to the Leader of the Indigenous People of Biafra, IPOB, Mazi Nnamdi Kanu, to ensure he gets the best legal representation in his ongoing trial.

 

 


Kanu who was recently re-arrested by the Nigerian government is scheduled to be in court on July 26, 2021, for the continuation of his trial

 

Briefing the media in Aba, chairman of the Association, Chief Chuks Muomah, SAN, who was represented by Chief Ukpai Ukairo, condemned the illegal manner in which Kanu was intercepted and brought to Nigeria.

 

The association called on the British government to investigate the illegality to ascertain how the IPOB Leader was moved from Kenya to Nigeria.

 

The group stated that one of its major objectives is to fight and protect the justifiable course of the Igbo man to fairness, justice and equity in Nigeria, stressing that it will henceforth, interface with all pro-Igbo organizations including the World Igbo Congress, WIC, for the attainment of the objectives.

 

“We’re calling on the British government to interrogate the interception of a British citizen, Mazi Nnamdi Kanu in Kenya and the subsequent detention in Nigeria.

 

“We are doing this because we want the British government to ensure the reversal of the illegality of that interception.

 

“We are also giving notice that Igbo Lawyers Association is mobilizing lawyers from across the globe to put up the best defence available under municipal and international law in defence of the rights of Mazi Nnamdi Kanu.

 

“This is because we stand on the pedestal that there must be a fair trial within the prism of settled international guidelines to ensure justice. We’re already in touch with Barrister Ifeanyi Ejiofor and he’s aware.

 

“The Honourable Attorney General of the Federation used the word interception and not arrest because he knows that what happened cannot come under the definition of an arrest.

 

“An interception is a kidnap and abduction. Having intercepted him, brought him to court, what we are saying is that all tenets of justice must be observed,” the Association said.

 

 


Why I’m Confident Nnamdi Kanu Will Soon Be Released – Kanu’s Lawyer

With much hope for the region, Lawyer to Nnamdi Kanu, Ifeanyi Ejiofor says he would soon regain freedom. He stated this while stressing that the Nigerian government does not possess any strong evidence to use in convicting Kanu.

Igbo Lawyers clash on who Mazi Nnamdi Kanu represents
Igbo Lawyers clash on who Mazi Nnamdi Kanu represents

Ejiofor appealed to Kanu’s supporters to be patient and prayerful.

 

Ejiofor said, “We are in high spirits that Mazi Nnamdi Kanu will soon come out of detention sooner than expected, and better too. It’s one thing for allegations to be made; it’s another thing to establish it. But I don’t think there’s anything strong enough to convict him.”

 

He also commented on what to expect during the July 26 court hearing.

 

He said: “Nothing extraordinary will happen that day. That I can assure you. We’ll be there as usual to entertain applications. If there’s any amendment, we’ll take it up from there.

 

“What we have is still the 3 counts. We also have an application overdue for hearing, that is the invasion of his house where 28 persons were killed.

 

“We have all the pictorial evidence. We’ll tender them before the court so the court will look at them to ensure justice.”

 

Kanu had in 2017 fled Nigeria to Europe, where he operated.

 

 


But, a few weeks ago, the Nigerian government rearrested him in Kenya and extradited him to Nigeria to continue his trial.

 

He was brought before Justice Binta Nyako, who remanded him in the custody of the Department of State Services (DSS).

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