The World Igbo Congress (WIC) has cautioned the Nigerian authorities on the safety of the self-acclaimed leader of the proscribed Indigenous People of Biafra (IPOB, Nnamdi Kani.
The WIC maintained that the rights of the secessionist leader must be protected.
In 2017, Kanu jumped bail but was rearrested and brought back to Nigeria on Tuesday. He is facing treason charges and was remanded in the custody of the Department of State Services (DSS) as directed in an order by a Federal High Court in Abuja.
But the World Igbo Congress in a statement jointly signed and issued by its Chairman, Abthony Ejiofor and the group spokesperson, Basil Onwukwe, called on the Federal Government to treat Kanu according to the universally accepted laws.
The group on Wednesday asked the “Nigerian Government to ensure that Nnamdi Kanu is treated in accordance with the rules and international conventions that guarantee that his rights and personal safety are protected.”
Kanu who is a citizen of the United Kingdom (UK) had been in the country after jumping bail. However, the government did not tell Nigerians how he was rearrested; this has triggered speculations about how he was recaptured.
The WIC, however, claims that the Biafran agitator was not captured in the UK and called on the British Government and the international community to investigate the circumstances surrounding Kanu’s rearrest.
“The UK government needs to investigate the collusion of any other country or party in this saga,” the Igbo group further stated.
“The government of the US, the UN and the international community to take note of the ongoing abuse of human rights in Nigeria including this matter of abduction of Nnamdi Kanu.”
In 2017, the Nigerian government proscribed IPOB and designated it as a terrorist organization but the World Igbo Congress has faulted the move, accusing the government of double standards and targeting the Igbo.
“The world has taken notice of the disparity in the treatment of Boko Haram insurgents and Fulani herdsmen who have been designated as terrorists by known international agencies,” it added in the statement where it called for the protection of the rights of Ndigbo.
“These killers are routinely arrested, compensated, released, and oftentimes absorbed into the Nigerian security services. On the other hand, the Igbo has been subjected to massive shoot-at-sight order, arrests and abduction. We would like to emphasize that no government in the world or any international security agency has designated IPOB as a terrorist organization and Nnamdi Kanu is not on any terrorist watchlist anywhere in the world.”
