The Minister of State for Foreign Affairs, Amb. Bianca Ojukwu, has appealed to the Federal Government to release the leader of the Indigenous People of Biafra, Nnamdi Kanu.
Kanu, who has been in the DSS custody since 2021, is being tried for alleged treason.
The wife of the late Chukwuemeka Odumegwu Ojukwu, leader of the defunct Biafran Republic, made the call in a speech at the 13th Memorial Anniversary of her husband held on Tuesday in Owerri.
It had “Unifying the Igbo Race” as its theme.
She advised the people of the South-East to look inwards and appraise the Igbo race that made them who they are.
The minister admonished them to be their brother’s keeper and love one another.
“In the olden days, we had Igbo unions in places like Kano, Lagos and Kaduna, among others, where people discussed matters affecting them and why they must unite.
“Today, we are celebrating Ojukwu, our uncommon man, a man who stood for peace and equality for every person,” she said.
She expressed dissatisfaction that the peaceful atmosphere, which Igboland was known for, no longer obtained in the region.
“There are so many killings, unrest and kidnappings going on today in the region, which is not how it used to be,” Ojukwu said.
She regretted that many people from the region could not go home again to bury their dead or give their children out in marriage due to the spate of unrest and insecurity.
She urged the people perpetrating the evil acts to desist from it and embrace peace.
She pointed out that some of the perpetrators were from the region and urged them to allow peace to reign.
She condemned the act of killing people in the region “in the name of a sit-at-home directive from non-state actors”.
She said that such was not what her husband stood for.
“Many people from the South-East have left the region for other cities like Lagos and other places, due to the spate of insecurity in the area.
“I was sad when an Igbo person in the U. S. told me that they are making donations in America to buy a burial ground to bury their dead relatives as insecurity in the region doesn’t allow them to do that at home,” she fumed.
Ojukwu said that the release of Kanu would help to ensure total restoration of peace in Igboland.
According to her, if Kanu is released, it will fast track development in the region.
In a speech, the organiser of the event, Chief Raph Uwazuruike, urged the Federal Government to release Kanu.
Uwazuruike, founder of the Movement for the Actualization of the Sovereign State of Biafra, opined that Kanu’s release would help the region to experience peace again.
He said that the memorial service was to commemorate Ikemba’s legacies, adding that “all the good things he stood for will not be forgotten”.
The Guest Speaker at the event, Prof. Protus Uzorma, said that the late Igbo leader “solidified the Igboland and made it a peaceful place until his death”.
Uzorma called on all Igbo to unite, adding that with peace in the region development would be assured.
He described the evil currently happening in the region as a new phenomenon which was not part of the things the Igbo were known for.
He said that Igbo people were peaceful, loving, enterprising and assisting one another before the killings, unrest and kidnappings erupted in the region.
He urged those behind the ugly situation to stop forthwith in order for peace to reign. (NAN)
