The family of detained Indigenous People of Biafra (IPOB) leader, Mazi Nnamdi Kanu, has dismissed claims linking human rights activist Omoyele Sowore to the arrest of Kanu’s younger brother, Prince Emmanuel Kanu, and his lawyer, Barrister Aloy Ejimakor, during Monday’s #FreeNnamdiKanuNow protest in Abuja.
In a statement issued on Tuesday, Kanunta Kanu, who spoke for the family, condemned the arrests, describing them as unlawful and provocative. He demanded the immediate release of Emmanuel, Ejimakor, and other demonstrators who were apprehended during what he said was a peaceful protest.
Kanunta expressed dismay over allegations that Sowore betrayed the arrested individuals, calling such accusations “mischievously incorrect.”
“Those pointing accusing fingers at Sowore should stop it. Saying that he sold out Barrister Aloy Ejimakor and Prince Emmanuel Kanu is incorrect,” he said. “He did what he was supposed to do by mobilizing Nigerians to protest against injustice. Some Nigerians and Igbo politicians are peddling this lie because they are ashamed that Sowore did what they failed to do.”Nigerian politics book
He accused some political elites in the South East of deliberately spreading falsehoods about Sowore out of embarrassment that “a non-Igbo had the courage to do what they could not.”
The family also accused the Federal Government of using state institutions to persecute Nnamdi Kanu and intimidate the Igbo people. They alleged that the recent arrests were meant to emotionally destabilize Kanu ahead of his court appearance scheduled for Thursday.
“The government knows it has no case against him; that’s why they are employing all manner of tactics to weaken him,” the statement said.
According to the family, the protesters acted within their constitutional rights, and the police lacked any legal justification to detain them.
“It’s clear that the police did not obtain any court injunction stopping the protest. If such existed, they would have shown it,” Kanunta asserted.
The Kanu family also refuted reports that a team from the Nigerian Medical Association (NMA) had visited the IPOB leader for a medical examination as ordered by Justice James Omotosho.
“NMA did not examine Nnamdi Kanu as directed by the presiding judge. They went on the instruction of the prosecutor. Where did the concocted report presented to the court come from? No NMA medical team visited Kanu,” the statement queried
The family warned that the continued detention of Kanu and the government’s disregard for multiple court orders could fuel greater unrest in the country.
“It is disturbing that Nigeria’s President, the Inspector General of Police, and the judiciary are the ones supervising the persecution of Nnamdi Kanu and Ndigbo,” they said. “Who are those opposing Kanu’s release and disobeying court orders while citing nonexistent injunctions against peaceful protests? The oppressors should know that the time is fast approaching when they will no longer be able to suppress the people.”Nigerian politics book
Sowore, meanwhile, in a separate reaction, criticized the Nigerian Army for shutting down Banex Plaza in Abuja following a clash between soldiers and traders, describing the act as “an abuse of power” and warning that the persecution of the Igbo people was “reaching a dangerous tipping point.”