A Northerner, Shehu Mahdi who identifies as a human rights activist and a political commentator has questioned the fairness of still keeping the leader and founder of the Indigenous People Of Biafra (IPOB), Mazi Nnamdi Kanu if people like Boko Haram criminals are giving amnesty, trained and giving commercial support.
Mahdi appeared in an interview recently where he was asked what his thoughts are on the continuing detention of the IPOB leader who recently asked the justice handling his case to recuse herself.
In response, Mahdi said, he had said it before and would repeat it, “if Boko Haram criminals are giving amnesty, trained and giving commercial support. If Sunda Igboho; a Yoruba Nation agitator, who was arrested and later released. If Asari Dokubo; a Niger Delta militant.
“If Tompolo still gets Federal government contracts, I don’t see any reason why Nnamdi Kanu is still kept behind bars. They have committed more crimes than what Kanu has committed.”
“If Kanu can not be released on the basis of legality. He should be released on the basis of equity, fairness. If he cannot get justice at least he should be given freedom based on equity. Because these people that have criminal records, all over the horizon have committed more crime than Kanu.
“Therefore, for me, keeping Kanu behind bars is immoral, it’s illegal, it’s unconstitutional, it’s a crime, and he is being cherry-picked for persecution. For now, he is being prosecuted, luckily, it’ll go round. One day they will be the people that will be persecuted and we’ll celebrate them.
“We will remind them that when Kanu was behind bars you were in charge, your children were in charge, your daughters were in charge, your parents were in charge, so keep quiet and enjoy what you have subjected other persons to enjoy in the person.”
This honest submission follows a heated court appearance for the embattled IPOB leader who vocally asked Justice Binta Nyaku to step aside from his case and told reporters after the court that he can not be tried by any Nigerian court and they have crimes worse than they alleged against him.
Nnamdi Kanu was unlawfully dragged to Nigeria from Kenya by Nigerian officials on 27 June 2021 and has since then remained in solitary confinement against several court rulings that he should be released and paid compensation.
His continued detention has sparked unnecessary insecurity in the Eastern part of Nigeria and several voices of thought from many countries and institutions have called for his release but the Nigerian state remained adamant, “because he is Igbo” many have said.
