Following a wide range of news circulating in the social media regarding the arrest of Mazi Nnamdi Kanu, the Leader of the Indigenous People Of Biafra by the Federal Government Security operatives and his extradition to Nigeria for the continuation of prosecution on treason allegation charges against him, Federal government is advised to be cautious and reasonable in handling him.

As a person with dual citizenship under the watch of the British Government arrested in Kenya and handed over to Nigeria Security forces, he ( KANU) deserves a fair hearing, fair treatment, and all professional care must be taken to ensure he does not die in custody.

The jubilation making round the width and length of this country on the arrest of the IPOB leader should not be seen as a successful celebration of having finally apprehended “the clog in the wheel of Nigeria” but should be seen as a mark of government commitment to entrench peace and tranquility in the country.

The volatile and fragile conditions of the Nigeria State today are not something that the Government should handle with an aggressive or brutal show of force. This is a democratic dispensation where the Rule of Law prevails and reigns supreme. The provisions of Intl law on Conflict Resolutions, UNO Charters on Fundamental Human Rights Protection& Self Determination must be properly followed in handling a high profile case of this nature to avoid regrettable mistakes. The Nigeria we see today belongs to all of us and nobody or ethnic group has a monopoly of ownership of our dear country, Nigeria.

It stands to reason that killings, terrorism, banditry, kidnapping, and other handfuls of crimes are condemned as ” Evil” in any contemporary society, so we must live to stand by the side of truth which is a force that cannot be suppressed no matter how we hate it. The federal government is hereby cautioned and advised to apply the same technical security professionalism to tackle herdsmen killings, banditry, and Book Haram insurgency that have been ravaging all nooks and crannies of Nigeria. It is crystal clear that since herdsmen have been attacking farms and farmers across the Nation with resultant disaster, none of the culprits has ever been arrested, interrogated let alone prosecution instead the Federal government is bent on re invoking the purported gazette for grazing routes which the 1999 Constitution has no provisions for. It is a pity that Nigerians are being killed on daily basis by these attackers without repulsive resistance from the Nigeria Security forces. In the words of Ottoman Dan Fodio,” Conscience is an open wound, only truth can heal it”. Today where is the conscience in the Federal Government to condemn all these ills and at the same time proffer meaningful solutions to tackle them?

We are living in a fragile society where truth is manipulated into falsehood. Nigerians are tired of bad news and insecurity. We are tired of hunger and high-handedness, we are fed up with man’s inhumanity to man. We are tired of the failure of policies and their attendant bureaucratic bottlenecks.

In the case of Mazi Nnamdi Kanu, it is a sensitive issue that requires proper administrative professionalism and the Federal government under the watch of President Buhari is advised to be judicious in the management of the case because of its sensitivity. Terrorism is a condemnable act in the heart of every right-thinking man so Government is encouraged to fight and prevent it at all costs. Government must do everything in its power to ensure that carrot hands are not given to others while another is treated with brutality.

Dialogue is important in this context as the government opens a door for it. Federal should endeavor to create an enabling ground for peaceful dialogue not only with IPOB but with other ethnic nationalities agitating for self-rule and restructuring of our nation s fiscal federalism. This window for peace does not mean weakness on the part of the government but it is one of the bureaucratic keys by which the gate of justice and equity are opened in a democratic and justice-oriented government.

Chief Dr.Emeka Kalu,
National Coordinator,
PDPCO.