leas to grant leader of the proscribed Indigenous People of Biafra (IPOB), Nnamdi Kanu a presidential pardon, has been shut down by President Muhammadu Buhari.
Though President Buhari had in November 2021 promised to consider the request of some leaders from the South East region to release Kanu who is facing treason charges preferred against him by the Nigerian Government, in an interview with Channels Television which was aired on Wednesday Janaury 5, the Nigerian President said Kanu must answer for his actions over the years, especially while he was out of the country.
Accusing Kanu of abusing his administration while in Europe “as if he was not a Nigerian”, the President said he won’t be interfering in judicial responsibilities.
He said;
“Nigerians know that I don’t interfere with the judiciary.
“Let him be listened to. For those who are saying that we should release him, no we cannot release him.
“There is a possibility of political solution; if people behave themselves, all well and good, but you can’t go to a foreign country and keep on sending incorrect economic and security problem against your country and thinking that you will never have to account for what you have been doing. Let him account for what he has been doing.
“There is one institution that I wouldn’t dare interfere with – that is the judiciary.
“Kanu’s case is with the judiciary, but what I wonder is when Kanu was safely in Europe abusing this administration and mentioning too many things, I never thought really he wants to voluntarily come and defend himself on the accusations.
“So, we are giving him an opportunity to defend himself in our system, not to be abusing us from Europe as if he was not a Nigerian. Let him come here to us and then criticise us here.”
The President also noted that he doesn’t believe Nigerians really want the country to disintegrate as we are better off together. Buhari claimed that Nigerians make noise about separation because they want better things.
