On Friday, Chief Chekwas Okorie, the founding chairman of the All Progressives Grand Alliance (APGA), urged the Federal Government to accept the Court of Appeal ruling that cleared the supreme leader of the Indigenous People of Biafra (IPOB), Mazi Nnamdi Kanu, of the terrorism charges brought against him by the government.
In a statement to journalists, the Anambra-born lawmaker stated that the country had nothing to lose and everything to gain from Kanu’s quick release.
According to him, doing so will herald a new era of peace and safety, particularly in the Southeast and South-South geopolitical zones of Nigeria.
His words, “I commend the three Justices of the Court of Appeal who demonstrated courage, forthrightness, erudition, and dispassion in delivering this historic judgment.
“It is with every sense of responsibility and patriotism that I urge and indeed appeal to the Federal Government of Nigeria under the leadership of President Muhammadu Buhari, to accept the verdict of the Court of Appeal in the interest of peace and national unity.
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“I further appeal to the President to seize the moment and use his special presidential dispensation to extend pardon to other detainees who are facing similar charges that are currently in various Correctional Facilities across the country.
“As we await the due compliance of the Federal Government with the judgment of the Court of Appeal by promptly releasing Mazi Nnamdi Kanu from the DSS facility, I fervently appeal to the jubilant population of the Nigerian society to celebrate Mazi Nnamdi Kanu’s freedom responsibly.
“The release of Mazi Nnamdi Kanu will definitely usher in, a new era of calm and security of life and property, especially in the Southeast and South-South geopolitical zones of Nigeria.
“One immediate benefit of the release of Mazi Nnamdi Kanu is the automatic stoppage of the economically debilitating stay-at-home, every Monday of the week in the Southeast geopolitical zone.
“Similarly the criminals who have been operating under the cover of IPOB pretending to be freedom fighters will now be isolated for who they truly are. It is fortuitous that the Appeal Court judgment is coming to the verge of the electioneering period in our Country.
“At least the security concerns of the Independent National Electoral Commission, INEC, would be reduced to the barest minimum in the South East and South-South geopolitical zones of Nigeria.
“The Federal Government and the good people of Nigeria have everything to gain and nothing to lose by the immediate release of Mazi Nnamdi Kanu.
“The time for President Muhammadu Buhari to show magnanimity and leadership in the vexed issue of Mazi Nnamdi Kanu is now.”
