A Nigerian think tank, Foundation for Peace Professionals (PeacePro) has said the ‘militant rhetoric and dedicated public hate and misinformation’ by the Indigenous People of Biafra (IPOB), have many any political solution to the long term detention of its leader, Nnamdi Kanu impossible.
PeacePro said this in a statement released by Abdulrazaq Hamzat, it Executive Director on Monday titled As such, the think thank said the only option available to Nnamdi Kanu to obtain freedom from his long detention is through the judicial process he is currently undergoing.
“IPOB must take responsibility for making political solution impossible,” the tink tank said.
The Federal Government on 21 March re-arraigned Kanu on seven-count amended charge bordering on terrorism before Justice James Omotosho of the Federal High Court in Abuja.
Kanu, who was re-arraigned , pleaded not guilty to the seven counts.
According to the charge, Kanu made a broadcast that was heard across Nigeria, in which he issued a threat that anyone who flouted a sit-at-home order in the south-east, should write his or her will.
The Federal Government alleged that as a result of the threat, banks, schools, markets, shopping malls, and petrol stations in the south-east have continued to shut down their businesses, with citizens and vehicular movements grounded.
It further alleged that Kanu’s broadcasts made on different dates between 2018 and 2021, incited members of the public to attack Nigerian security personnel and their family members, thereby committing an offence punishable under Section 1(2)(h) of the Terrorism Prevention Amendment Act, 2013.
It also alleged that Kanu directed members of IPOB “to manufacture bombs”.
The federal government also alleged that Kanu between March and April 2015, “imported into Nigeria and kept in Ubulisiuzor in Ihiala LGA of Anambra, a radio transmitter known as Tram 50L, concealed in a container of used household items which you declared as used household items.
The offence is said to be contrary to Section 47(2)(a) of Criminal Code Act Cap, C45 Laws of the Federation of Nigeria 2004.
The Foundation for Peace Professionals (PeacePro) recognizes the prolonged detention of Mr. Nnamdi Kanu, leader of the Indigenous People of Biafra (IPOB), as a tragic consequence of a dangerous path marked by aggression, misinformation, and miscalculated resistance.
Nnamdi Kanu is, in many ways, a prisoner of his own aggression, caught in a web of combative rhetoric and violent agitation that has brought deep pain to communities, damaged the cause he claimed to represent, and subjected him to continued incarceration.
As a peacebuilding organization committed to non-violence, dialogue, and the pursuit of justice through constructive engagement, PeacePro urges IPOB and its remaining sympathizers to surrender their campaign of violent agitation and embrace lawful, peaceful, and inclusive political processes.
The agitation for self determination, when expressed through threats, militarized posturing, or social division, loses its legitimacy and moral standing.
The agitation, as currently championed by IPOB, has become a source of fear, not freedom; of coercion, not courage.
It is time to redefine the pursuit of justice, not as an excuse for chaos, but as a commitment to peace, development, and democratic inclusion.
PeacePro therefore calls on IPOB to unconditionally surrender all militant activities, cease inflammatory rhetoric and deliberate misinformation, and adopt a peace oriented framework to express their grievances.
It is important to note that, the militant rhetoric and dedicated public hate and misinformation by IPOB has made it impossible for any political solution to be possible and the only option available to Nnamdi Kanu is to go through the judicial process. IPOB must take responsibility for making political solution impossible.
The group didn’t understand that true power is not found in secessionist flags or the sound of gunfire, but in the courage to build, the wisdom to reconcile, and the humility to choose peace over pride.
Peace is not surrender. Peace is the most courageous decision any movement can make.
Abdulrazaq Hamzat Executive Director Foundation for Peace Professionals (PeacePro) [www.peacepro.org]
