Ayo Adebanjo, a chieftain of Afenifere, the pan-Yoruba socio-political organisation, says the federal government has no right to continue keeping Nnamdi Kanu, leader of the proscribed Indigenous People Of Biafra (IPOB), in detention.
In a chat with TheCable, Adebanjo said former President Muhammadu Buhari and Bola Tinubu, his successor, are using veto power to detain Kanu unjustly.
He added that Kanu’s detention has worsened the insecurity crisis in the south-east region.
“They have no right keeping him in detention. What are they keeping him for? He was imprisoned because of the dictatorial power of Buhari and it appears Bola Tinubu is continuing with it,” Adebanjo said.
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“They have no basis to continue keeping him in prison. They are just using their veto power to detain him unjustly.
“All these while they kept him in prison, has it stopped the insecurity in the south-east or other parts of the country? Rather than stop, insecurity is growing worse.
“Why can’t they learn from experience? They have no clue about anything.”
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After Kanu’s extradition in June 2020, the federal government filed terrorism charges against him.
In April 2022, Binta Nyako, presiding judge of the federal high court Abuja, struck out eight of the 15 counts in the charge.
The remaining seven counts were also quashed by the court of appeal on October 13, 2022, with the judge ordering Kanu’s release.
However, on October 28, 2022, the court of appeal granted a stay of execution on its verdict discharging Kanu, after the federal government filed an appeal at the supreme court.
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On December 15, 2023, a five-member panel of the apex court reversed the verdict of the appeal court and ordered Kanu to resume his trial before the federal high court.
On March 19, Kanu was denied bail for the umpteenth time.
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