A former Attorney General in Imo State, Chukwuma-Machukwu Ume, SAN, has appealed to President Bola Tinubu to set aside the Supreme Court decision that held that the detained leader of the Indigenous People of Biafra, Nnamdi Kanu, still has case to answer and release him.
Ume, in a letter sighted by our correspondent on Saturday, dated February 24, 2025, addressed to the President and copied to the Attorney General of the Federation and Minister of Justice, Lateef Fagbemi, SAN, stated that the continuous detention of Kanu has contributed to escalating tensions and adverse developments of insecurity, not only in the South East but nationwide.
In what he described as a sincere reflection on the antecedents and peculiar circumstances surrounding the emergence of Kanu and his ordeals in the last seven years, Ume stated that the circumstances clearly show that the Federal Government needs to reassess its strategy over what he termed “the national quagmire.”
Ume stated that amongst many disturbing issues that have arisen due to the continuous detention of Kanu is the Owerri correctional facility jailbreak.
He wrote, “Your Excellency, the complexities and root causes of the security challenges in the South East must have been issues of grave concern to your government. A significant factor that has contributed to the escalating crisis is the jailbreak at the Correctional Facility in Owerri.
“Since that incident, the South East has tragically transformed into a theatre of war and bloodshed, disrupting lives, crippling businesses, and fostering an atmosphere of uncertainty.
“May I take a moment to share my deep concern regarding the ‘Sit-At-Home’ phenomenon in the South East? During the 2023 General Election, there was a palpable fear that the said Sit-At-Home Order would be weaponized to suppress voter participation in the South East. I had to take out time and meet with Mazi Nnamdi Kanu on it. However, during my interaction with him, it became evident that he never sanctioned that Sit-At-Home Order. There and then, through his Special Counsel, he publicly disowned the said Sit-At-Home Order.
“It is therefore axiomatic that some characters are taking undue advantage of his incarceration to inflict mayhem in the South East.
” I therefore sincerely believe that his release will assist your government in solving the anarchy in the South East and thus free the government’s energy for other pressing issues.”
Highlighting similar situations in the South West and Niger Delta where the government allowed political discretion to douse the tension amongst the people over similar grievances, Ume urged the President to accord Kanu same opportunity in the interest of fairness.
