Elder statesman and Convener/National Chairman, Igbo Agenda Dialogue (IAD), Dr Chekwas Okorie, has lamented the toll that Nnamdi Kanu’s life imprisonment will leave on the socio-political life of the South East geopolitical zone and Nigeria.
In a statement made available to The Guardian, Okorie expressed dismay that “after all the legal rigmarole in the matter of Mazi Nnamdi Kanu, it has ended up in his being sentenced to a life imprisonment.”
He recalled his belief that Mazi Nnamdi Kanu’s agitation for the self-determination of the Igbo people by exiting Nigeria was not only political, but within his fundamental right of freedom of expression.
Okorie, who recently quit partisan politics, said he advised Nigerian governments that the legal process would not resolve this matter, remarking that it could be said that Nnamdi Kanu’s crusade is an offshoot of Chief Ralph Uwazurike’s MASSOB.
While noting the implications of the judgement on the security situation in the country, Okorie noted: “The trial of Nnamdi Kanu is fundamentally flawed, given the nature of his extraordinary rendition from Kenya. It is with every sense of responsibility that I urge President Tinubu to take immediate steps to invoke his special presidential dispensation to halt Nnamdi Kanu’s highly incendiary matter and grant him pardon without allowing the parties to proceed with appeals at the appellate and apex courts.
“There are several flash points in Nigeria at this time, and the country is in the eye of the storm in the comity of nations. The ball is now in the court of President Bola Ahmed Tinubu. How he responds to this tasty moment will determine the direction of all the various outcomes, one way or the other.”
A Federal High Court in Abuja had on Thursday sentenced Kanu of the proscribed separatist group Indigenous People of Biafra (IPOB) to life imprisonment upon his conviction for the offence of terrorism.
Justice James Omotosho, while concluding his judgment on Kanu’s trial on Thursday, sentenced him to life imprisonment in relation to counts one, two, four, five and six of the seven-count charge in which he was prosecuted by the Department of State Services (DSS).
For count three, relating to the offences of belonging to a proscribed terrorist group, Justice Omotosho sentenced him to 20 years’ imprisonment without an option of fine.
On count seven, relating to his unlawful importation of a radio transmitter for the purpose of furthering the clandestine activities of Radio Biafra, which is not registered in Nigeria, the judge sentenced him to five years’ imprisonment without an option of fine.
The judge, who noted that Kanu had been unruly throughout the trial, said the law allowed the court to sentence him to death for the terrorism offences, but that he, as a Christian, chose to be merciful to the defendant.
