The Ohanaeze Youth Council (OYC) has urged the British government to promptly safeguard the life of Nnamdi Kanu, the leader of the Indigenous People of Biafra (IPOB).
OYC said the revelation by Buhari’s former spokesman, Femi Adesina, that the immediate past administration considered assassinating Kanu was a wake-up call for the British government.
In his book “Working with Buhari: Reflections of a Special Adviser, Media and Publicity (2015-2023), Adesina said the then government considered eliminating Kanu but the ex-president opted for his arrest.
However, OYC National President General, Igboayaka O Igboayaka said: “For Nigerians with awareness of Buhari’s lackadaisical approach to the insecurity that ravaged the North during his term, the idea that he considered assassinating a self-determination agitator like Mazi Nnamdi Kanu says a lot about the disdain and tribalistic mindset he had for Ndigbo and for freedom to hold political opinion.”
Addressing journalists in Abuja on Wednesday, Igboayaka said: “For Britain, this very revelation of attempted assassination on Mazi Nnamdi Kanu by former president Muhammadu Buhari is all that it needs to act quickly to protect the life and liberty of her citizen, Mazi Nnamdi Kanu and Indigenous People of Biafra group.
“It is baffling that in 1984, Britain severely punished Nigeria for attempting to rendition late Alhaji Umaru Dikko but from all indications and empirical evidence it has not demonstrated sufficient interest in protecting Mazi Nnamdi Kanu, a bonafide British citizen.
“This is worrisome and suspicious to the Igbo Race over British political and diplomatic romance with the undemocratic tyrannical government of Nigeria. Therefore, we call the British Prime Minister Rishi Sunak to do the right thing without further ado.”
Ohanaeze Youth Council, OYC, also calls on all men and women of good conscience and the international community to pivot and leverage this troubling revelation of the attempted assassination of Kanu as a reference point for demanding the unconditional release of Mazi Nnamdi Kanu.
