TheCable

Peter Mbah, governor of Enugu, has asked President Bola Tinubu to release Nnamdi Kanu, leader of the proscribed Indigenous People of Biafra (IPOB), who is in detention.

Mbah made the demand on Thursday, after a security council meeting at the government house, in Enugu.

The governor is the latest chieftain of south-east extraction to appeal for the release of Kanu. Several persons from the geo-political zone have made the demand, including Chukwuma Soludo, governor of Anambra.

In October 2022, the court of appeal in Abuja struck out the terrorism charge filed against Kanu.

The appellate court held that Kanu’s extradition from Kenya to Nigeria to stand trial was illegal.

The federal government later filed an appeal before the supreme court challenging the judgement — and subsequently filed an amended charge before a federal high court.

The federal government also filed to stay the execution in the appellate court and it was granted.

The supreme court heard the case last month but adjourned it to September 14.

‘KANU’S RELEASE NECESSARY FOR PEACE’

Mbah said Kanu’s release is pivotal to the peace in the south-east geo-political zone.

He urged Tinubu to “consciously work towards” the release of the leader of the proscribed separatist group.

“We believe that his release will expedite the healing process Nigeria needs at this time,” Mbah said.

“It will also be a pointer to his administration’s extension of brotherly hands of fellowship to Ndigbo.”

The governor also said there was no more Monday “sit-at-home” order in the state effective from June 6.

Mbah said the illegal sit-at-home restricts creativity, entrepreneurship, and productivity in the state.

“The creativity and sense of industry of Ndi Igbo are remarkable. Our DNA is wired with commercial and entrepreneurial prowess,” he said.

“If this is what we are known by, then it becomes inconsistent with reality that the spirit of entrepreneurship, commerce and creativity are killed every Monday in our land. Our restless spirit of industry abhors laxity and indolence.

“The idea behind sitting at home on Monday, the first working and business day of the week, is abominable and antithetical to greatness and the spirit of the industry we profess to have inherited from our forebears. This cannot be us. It does colossal damage to us.”

He said for the government to transition from a public service economy to a private sector-driven one, the state must be “free from the shackles of restriction to commerce”.

“Therefore, those that strike on Mondays, putting restrictions in the way of our Igbo spirit of creativity, cannot be our true representatives. They kill our spirit,” he said.

Mbah said no sit-at-home would take place in any nook and cranny of the state, adding that the government would “dialogue with people who have genuine grievances towards bringing lasting peace and security” to the state.

Sit-at-home order was introduced by IPOB to protest the detention of Kanu, its leader.

Although the separatist group suspended the sit-at-home in September 2021, there have been reports of forceful, sometimes violent enforcement of the order by suspected thugs in the region.