Former Nigerian Ambassador to Spain, Mrs Bianca
Ojukwu, has pleaded with President Muhammadu Buhari
to release Nnamdi Kanu, leader of the proscribed
Indigenous People of Biafra (IPOB).
Mrs Ojukwu made the plea while speaking at the 10th
memorial anniversary of late Igbo leader, Chukwuemeka
Odumegwu Ojukwu, organised in Owerri on Friday.
She urged the President to consider the plea made by
some Igbo leaders during their recent visit to the State
House, Abuja, asking for Kanu’s release.
She said that Kanu’s release would demonstrate Buhari’s
magnanimity, adding that the clamour for secession is a
direct consequence of perceived inequality in distribution
of resources and political appointments in the country.
She, however, urged governors of the South East geo-
political zone to remember Ojukwu just as the convener of
the event, Chief Ralph Uwazuruike, leader of the
Movement for the Actualisation of the Sovereign State of
Biafra.
“Kanu’s release will further buttress President Buhari’s
commitment to healing the wounds inflicted by the sense
of marginalisation felt by the Igbo nation,” she said.
Speaking, Mr Ahamefula Ojukwu, chairman of the
occasion and son of the late Igbo leader, thanked
Uwazuruike for conducting the affairs of the entire Igbo
nation in unity.
He urged Igbo people, especially those privileged to
occupy positions of authority, to preserve the legacies of
his late father whom he described as “an embodiment of
selfless service and sacrifice to the Igbo cause”.
Earlier in an address, Dr Nkem Okeke, Deputy Governor of
Anambra, decried the use of violence in the quest for self
determination.
He implored Igbo people to be united and fight
diplomatically so as to achieve a set objective.
The News Agency of Nigeria (NAN) reports that the event
was attended by various Igbo groups from the South-East
and South-South geo-political zones of the country.
A highlight of the event was the cultural dances and
traditional masquerade performances by various troupes.
(NAN)
