The chairman of International Society for Civil Liberties & the Rule of Law (Inter-society), Chief Umegbalasi, on Tuesday October 20, reacted to the continued detention of the director of Biafra Radio and leader of Indigenous People of Biafra (IPOD), Nnamdi Kanu who was widely reported to have been released on bail.

Director of the Radio Biafra, Nnamdi Kanu

Speaking to Naij.com Umegbalasi said the bone of contention in the case of Nnamdi Kanu is not his arrest but the grounds upon which he was arrested.

It was widely reported yesterday that Nnamdi Kanu was released on bail but has not been able to meet his bail conditions.

“This is democracy, let me tell you nobody is above arrest. The only person that cannot be arrested is the president, vice president and governors because of the immunity clause.

“It is not the issue of arrest that is the bone of contention, the bone of contention is the ground upon which the man was arrested. If you go to section 36 ( 36 (12) of the 1999 constitution, they are very clear that you cannot arrest a citizen without tracing a crime to the citizen,” Umegbalasi said.

Kanu, was reportedly arrested by the Department of State Services (DSS) some few hours after he got into Nigeria from the United Kingdom (U.K), on Saturday, October 17.

Fielding questions on the allegations by prominent Nigerians that the UK based director of the Radio Biafra has been using the radio station for selfish and ‘anti-nationhood’ reasons, Umegbalasi suggested that since the federal government has not come out to say the exact offence Kanu has committed they have no reason to arrest him.

Arresting him without saying the reason, Umegbalasi continued, will amount to infringing on his fundamental human right.

“If you are talking of propaganda or anything like that all those things must be grounded in criminal law. If you do anything in the contrary it amounts to trial by ordeal or jungle justice.

“The constitution frowns at it. You must not arrest somebody without telling the person the offense under which the person is being arrested. The Nigerian government failed to tell Nigerians why he was arrested.

“While he was arrested the Nigerian government kept mute, which is an indicator of the past military inglorious approach. When you arrest somebody under constitutional democracy you tell Nigerians that we are holding this man and this is what he has done,” Umegbalasi said.

Umegbalasi also queried reports that Kanu is on bail adding that information at his disposal does not suggest so.

“As I speak to you, there is a news that he is on bail and it is not true. The office of the Co-ordinators of the co-coordinators, (a part of the group organogram) confirmed from his base in United Kingdom that Nnamdi is still in the custody of the federal government,” Umegbalasi said.

The chairman then called on the federal government to release and apologize to Nnamdi Kanu without delay.

“What Inter-society is telling the FG is that they should charge him (Kanu) to court. And if they don’t want to charge him to court it will mean that they are holding him without recourse to any crime that is known to Nigerian law.

“They should release him unconditionally and apologize to him. That is the message to the federal government. As I speak now the man is still there.”

The national co-ordinator of the non-governmental group, Human Rights Writers Association of Nigeria (HURIWA), Emmanuel Onwubiko also flayed the federal government for detaining Nnamdi Kanu.

He said: “He has not done anything anti-nationhood. The radio station we are talking about is it in Nigeria? Didn’t the federal government told Nigerians that the radio station has been locked up. When they were doing campaigns, didn’t you hear all manners of speeches in Hausa language?”

Onwubiko also said nobody can disrupt the struggle for self-realization unless a referendum is conducted.

“Nobody can quench the Biafra struggle, the only thing the government can do is to organize a referendum. But the government that we have right now don’t have that kind of political will. They won’t do it be because they like the status quo. A time will come when we will have a listening government and that time we may have a referendum to find out how many people of southeast origin are in support of the struggle.

“It is a fundamental human right. You that you are speaking now, you can stand up today and say you don’t want to be a Nigerian and walk away. It is in the constitution. You can walk away. A group can also walk away. It is now left for the Nigerian government to conduct a referendum because under international law, agitation for statehood is allowed.”

Meanwhile, a source close to IPOD said that the Directorate of State, which is the highest decision making body of the organization had met and will soon be issuing a statement on their resolution and next line of action.

Also, the leader of the Movement for the Sovereign State of Biafra, MASSOB, Ralph Uwazuruike, on Monday, October 19, disowned the embattled director saying he does not belong to the Biafra movement.

ok i have seen. what next ?

akuko mike ejeagha
make them come release am nah just noro ebe ahu na akogheri

This Biafra struggle may be marred by Nwazuruke if care is not taken. The Hausa /Fulani may have bribed him and using divide and rule tactics which they know best.

Biafra is here...

The only achievement buhari has got since may 29th is making Biafra mor popular..
Thanks to him very plenty..