The south-east council of traditional rulers and
representatives of Igbo archbishops and bishops have called on the federal
government to affirm the rights of Nnamdi Kanu, leader of the proscribed Indigenous
People of Biafra (IPOB), and that of his lawyers.
In a statement jointly signed by Anthony Obinna, Nnaemeka
Achebe, and Chibuzo Opoko, the group commended IPOB for listening to its appeal
and calling off the sit-at-home order ahead of the Anambra governorship
election.
The monarchs and religious leaders said the cancellation of
the sit-at-home has offered some relief to “the already distressed social and
economic life of our people”.
They, however, expressed concern about the difficulties
encountered by Kanu’s lawyers during his trial.
Recall that Kanu’s lawyers walked out of the
court last Wednesday in protest over the refusal of the DSS to allow some other
lawyers in the team to gain access to the courtroom.
Consequently, the trial of the IPOB leader was adjourned
till January 19.
“The Joint Body is relieved that the Anambra State
Gubernatorial Election was conducted without any major incidents or breach of
the peace,” the statement reads.
“It also commends the people of Anambra State, the
Independent National Electoral Commission (INEC), the Security Forces, the
National Peace Committee, and all the other actors who contributed to the successful
conduct of the election.
“The Joint Body is highly disturbed by the persistent
complaints by the IPOB legal team about the difficulties it encounters in
dealing with the Department of State Services (DSS) and, especially, the sad
events which occurred during Mazi Nnamdi Kanu’s appearance in court last
Wednesday, November 10.
“This Body urges the court to affirm the fundamental rights
of Mazi Nnamdi Kanu, his lawyers, and other stakeholders. Failure to do so
would lend weight to the suspicion in some quarters of a planned secret trial,
as well as neutralise all the efforts being made to establish peace in the
South East.
“The Joint Body acknowledges the statement by the
Attorney-General & Minister of Justice, Mr. Abubakar Malami SAN, in which
he affirmed that the Federal Government was open to a political solution to
Mazi Nnamdi Kanu’s case.
“This statement is in
line with the proposal earlier made by this Joint Body and by other
well-meaning persons and groups in Nigeria. This Body therefore eagerly awaits
the concrete steps that would be taken in this regard.”
The body called on south-easterners to sustain the current
effort on sustaining peace “until true peace, based on justice and equity is
achieved in our land”.
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