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By Lizzy Chirkpi
Former presidential candidate, and Human rights activist, Omoyele Sowore, on Friday revealed that former President Goodluck Jonathan has agreed to meet with President Bola Tinubu over the continued detention of the leader of the Indigenous People of Biafra (IPOB), Nnamdi Kanu.
Sowore made this known via his X handle after a meeting with Jonathan in Abuja, where they discussed what he described as the “urgent and compelling need” to resolve Kanu’s case.
“Earlier today in Abuja, I met with former President @GEJonathan (Goodluck Jonathan) to discuss the continued incarceration of Mazi @NnamdiKanu,” Sowore wrote.
According to him, Jonathan acknowledged the importance of addressing Kanu’s case in the interest of justice and national unity.
“President Jonathan agreed that there is an urgent and compelling need to address this matter decisively and justly. I thank him sincerely for recognising the importance of resolving Kanu’s case in the interest of peace, fairness, and national healing,” Sowore said.
He added that the former president assured him he would engage President Tinubu on the matter “as soon as possible.”
“Particularly assuring was that he promised to meet @officialabat (President Bola Tinubu) to discuss this issue as soon as possible,” he stated.
Sowore further stated that Jonathan’s intervention adds to the growing voices calling for Kanu’s release.
“A list that already includes ex-Vice President @atiku, Femi Falana SAN, Senator @ShehuSani, and many others across political and regional divides,” he said.
Reiterating his position, Sowore described Kanu’s continued detention as unjust, saying the IPOB leader “remains in detention today because he took up the just cause of confronting the long-standing issue of marginalisation in Nigeria.”
He also called on key political, cultural, and religious figures such as Peter Obi, Chukwuma Soludo, Alex Otti, Francis Nwifuru, Peter Mbah, Hope Uzodinma, Oby Ezekwesili, and Ohanaeze Ndigbo’s John Mbata to lend their voices to the demand for Kanu’s release.
Nnamdi Kanu has been held in custody since 2021, following his re-arrest abroad and subsequent extradition to Nigeria. Despite multiple court rulings granting him bail or ordering his release, the federal government has yet to comply.