The United Igbo Elders Council (UNIEC) has intensified its call for the Federal Government to unconditionally release Nnamdi Kanu, the leader of the Indigenous People of Biafra (IPOB), along with all political prisoners. The group also demanded an immediate end to unlawful arrests, detentions, and extrajudicial killings across Nigeria, as well as the lifting of economic blockades against Eastern Nigeria.
The demands were made public in a statement issued on Saturday, August 25, 2024, by Prof. Obasi Igwe, Director of Media and Publicity, and Alpha Justice, Coordinator-General of UNIEC. The elders emphasized that peace and stability in Nigeria could only be achieved through restructuring, regionalism, and a referendum. They urged the government to adopt these measures as a foundation for meaningful development in the country.
The UNIEC also called for the reopening of Eastern ports, arguing that this move would stimulate economic growth and benefit not only the region but also other parts of the country. The statement highlighted the negative impact of the continued closure of these ports, stressing that it hampers development across the Eastern Middle Belt and beyond.
In a strongly worded section of their statement, the elders said: “It is an indisputable fact that by mid-2015, there was not a single insurgency or war to overthrow the Federal Government or procure a Biafra anywhere in Igbo society and none today, except the one manufactured by a tyrant that made sure that such a war existed, with shoot-to-kill or shoot-at-sight orders openly issued against promising innocent youngsters in full view of all the world, in part to punish the Igbo for their sundry sins.”
They continued, “We, therefore, demand the unconditional release of all political prisoners, including the leader of the Indigenous People of Biafra, IPOB, Mazi Nnamdi Kanu, and his colleagues, with an immediate end to all manner of unlawful, hooded, night and secret arrests, detentions, and extrajudicial killings. Mazi Nnamdi Kanu has been tortured, victimized, and dehumanized beyond measure, and it confers to a nation no value to continue to keep an innocent citizen in jail.”
The elders concluded by reiterating the need for Nigeria to be restructured based on single nationality regions alongside multi-ethnic nationality regions. They argued that no economic policy, no matter how well crafted, could succeed without a solid political and economic foundation.
The UNIEC’s demands represent growing pressure on President Tinubu’s administration to address long-standing grievances in the Southeast and across Nigeria, as calls for justice and reform continue to mount.
