The Coalition of Northern Groups (CNG) has criticized renewed calls for the stoppage of the trial of the leader of the Indigenous People of Biafra (IPOB), Nnamdi Kanu.
Ohanaeze and some Igbo leaders and groups have called on the ‘President-elect’, Bola Tinubu to release Kanu after his inauguration
Kanu was detained by the secret police, Department of State Services following his rendition to Nigeria from Kenya in June 2021.
Meanwhile, Tinubu will be sworn in on May 29, 2023, if the cases in court to challenge his victory are not decided against him by then.
However, the CNG has described calls on Tinubu to pardon and release Kanu as unreasonable, thoughtless and unrealistic.
The spokesperson for the coalition, Abdul-Azeez Suleman in Abuja, on Monday called on the authorities to dismiss such calls.
He urged the authorities to ensure the prosecution of Kanu, saying setting the separatist leader free will set a bad precedent that regional leaders can pervert the course of justice or assist criminals to evade prosecution.
The statement reads in part, “To specifically invite the attention of the incoming President Bola Ahmed Tinubu to remain vigilant as to the direction the country is headed so as to avoid the type of mistake committed by the late President Shehu Shagari in granting unconditional state pardon to the initiator of the Biafra project, Odumegwu Ojukwu which has proved counterproductive.
“He should bear in mind that the bulk majority of Kanu’s casualties are from the North, the region from where he extracted the bulk of his winning votes.
“We remind him of the moral consequences of falling to the trap of the Ndigbo of the South-East from where he secured very insignificant support at the expense of his true friends and allies in the North who bear the brunt of the atrocities perpetrated by Kanu.
“Instead, the president should remain resolute in ensuring the diligent prosecution of Kanu, his sponsors, backers and collaborators in the heinous crimes against the Nigerian state and innocent Nigerian citizens.”