African Action Congress 2023 presidential candidate Omoyele Sowore has characterized the ongoing trial of Indigenous People of Biafra leader Nnamdi Kanu as persecution rather than prosecution.
Sowore made the statement while appearing on News Central’s Breakfast Central on Friday, where he revealed plans to set aside political differences with former President Goodluck Jonathan and ex-Vice President Atiku Abubakar to advocate for Kanu’s release.
The human rights activist disclosed that he has contacted Jonathan, Atiku, and several southeastern political leaders regarding a planned protest demanding Kanu’s freedom.
“We all know that one of the tenets of justice is speedy and fair trial and we all know that what happened in Kanu’s case was that there is no trial going on, its just theatrics,” Sowore stated.
“We as the people who understand, fought for and tried our best to human rights have a duty to let the country know that this sad development in our polity, we can’t pretend that Nnamdi Kanu is undergoing trial, this not trial, not prosecution but persecution.”
Sowore emphasized that he would temporarily put aside political disagreements for the purpose of securing Kanu’s release.
“I made it known that I’m going to set aside my political differences with some people. It should be on record that this is only regarding the struggle for Nnamdi Kanu’s release, I have reached out to many people, I did reach out to Atiku through his aide that he should come on board. Presently, I’m surprised that it happened very fast,” he said.
The activist revealed that he initially contacted eastern political leaders, including the governors of Anambra and Abia states, as well as Peter Obi, but received no responses until Atiku responded to his outreach. He added that while he reached out to Senator Eyinnaya Abaribe, the lawmaker has not publicly confirmed his intention to participate.
Sowore announced plans to expand his outreach efforts, stating, “I’m going to reach out to more people, I’m going to reach out to Goodluck Jonathan so he would take a position on this. So I don’t think that anybody should take this as a political opportunity as they are trying to present it.”
The development follows Sowore’s earlier challenge to South East leaders to join a march to Aso Rock demanding Kanu’s release. His call gained traction on Thursday when Atiku publicly backed the demand for Kanu’s immediate release or prosecution, describing the IPOB leader’s continued detention despite court orders granting him bail as “an abuse of power and an assault on justice.”
Kanu has been in DSS custody since his extraordinary rendition from Kenya in 2021, despite multiple court rulings ordering his release. His continued detention has remained a contentious issue, particularly in the South East region.
