A coalition of Igbo professionals and entrepreneurs residing in the United States, Njika Amaka, has accused former presidential candidates Omoyele Sowore and Atiku Abubakar of attempting to politicise the legal proceedings involving detained IPOB leader, Nnamdi Kanu.
Gatekeepers News reports that the group said the planned “Free Nnamdi Kanu Now” protest scheduled for October 20 was a deliberate effort to derail what it called the “steady judicial progress” being made in the trial.
In a statement on Tuesday, signed by Chief Emeka Ejidike, Chairman, and Chief Okey Anosike, Secretary, the organisation alleged that both politicians were seeking to regain public attention through Kanu’s cause.
The group said, “We have watched with concern the activities of Sowore on the ongoing trial of our brother, Nnamdi Kanu. As if that isn’t worrying enough, Atiku Abubakar, who has never organised nor joined any protest to free his violence-ravaged region, has joined Sowore.”
According to the coalition, politicians who “lost relevance at the polls” were exploiting Kanu’s detention for personal advantage. It warned that street demonstrations at this stage could “jeopardise the process” the judiciary was carefully handling.
Quoting an Igbo proverb, Njiko Amaka added, “Ndigbo have a wise saying about a tortoise that spent years in a dung pit. On the day of his release, Mr Tortoise began to holler for his captors to quickly set him free, forgetting that he’d spent years in the pit. This aptly captures the condition we find ourselves in with our brother, Nnamdi Kanu.”
The group also questioned Sowore’s motives, citing his own pending criminal trial. It said, “The question well-meaning Nigerians should ask Sowore is why his sudden interest in leading a protest for Kanu at the same time he is facing criminal charges for calling President Bola Tinubu an unprintable name?”
Njiko Amaka criticised Atiku’s support for the protest, describing it as selective activism. It said, “Atiku is from the North. So is Mohammed Usman, also known as Khalid al-Barnawi, who masterminded the 2011 bombing of the UN building in Abuja and has been in detention since 2016. Why Atiku left out al-Barnawi and jumped on the case of Nnamdi Kanu is best known to him. All we know is that only evil motives drive a man to cry more than the bereaved.”
The coalition urged Nigerians to be cautious of what it called the “self-serving antics” of both politicians. It said, “We advise all well-meaning Nigerians to avoid them like a plague.”
Njiko Amaka added that legitimate political interventions were already ongoing to secure Kanu’s freedom.
It added, “We are happy that Ndigbo are not in short supply of worthy torchbearers who can plead the cause of Ndigbo. We have five governors, 15 senators, and scores of Representatives. Even today, Governor Peter Mbah assured that a political solution was being worked out on Kanu. We do not want fifth columnists to scuttle this.”
