ENUGU, Nigeria (VOICE OF NAIJA)- Most Rev. Biereonwu Livinus Onuagha, the Methodist Archbishop of Okigwe Archdiocese and Bishop of Okigwe, has raised serious concerns about the continued detention of Mazi Nnamdi Kanu, the leader of the Indigenous People of Biafra (IPOB).
According to Archbishop Onuagha, this situation represents a potential crisis for Nigeria, likening it to a ticking time bomb.
The Archbishop’s comments were in response to alleged media reports suggesting that Ohanaeze Ndigbo, a prominent Igbo organization, was appealing to Northern elders and Asari Dokubo for Kanu’s release.
Archbishop Onuagha dismissed such pleas from Igbo groups as “arrant nonsense.”
He firmly asserted that Mazi Kanu had not committed any offense, emphasizing that competent courts in Nigeria had cleared him of all charges. Therefore, there should be no need to plead for his release.
Archbishop Onuagha went on to praise Mazi Kanu as a hero and a voice for the Igbo people, noting that his only “crime” was advocating for the rightful rights of the Igbo community.
He also expressed surprise that, decades after the Nigerian Biafra Civil War, some still harbor grudges against the Igbo people, treating them as if they are not an integral part of the nation.
According to Archbishop Onuagha, “I read today in a newspaper that the Ohaneze Ndigbo is pleading with Northern elders and Asari Dokubo for the release of Mazi Nnamdi Kanu, and I wonder if such report is correct.”
“It really beats my imagination if Ohaneze Ndigbo has done something like that or do we now have two strands of Ohaneze Ndigboin Nigeria. Number one is such plea should be made, should it be to such inappropriate quarters. What is the crime or offense that Nnamdi Kanu committed and why is Nnamdi Kanu still in captivity.
“Number two, on what basis is anybody or group pleading for Nandi Kanu’s release, are you pleading because he committed treasonable felony which the courts says he did not commit or are you pleading because he has broken any other law of the country, what exactly is anybody or group pleading for if that story is true.
“Nnamdi Kanu has done nothing wrong to be detained for this long. The only crime of Kanu is that he is an Igbo man and has stood up like no one in recent time to save Ndigbo like Moses of the old in the hands of Pharaoh.
“Let me say it again that any Igbo man who is trying to plead for the release of Nnamdi Kanu without giving us reasons why he is doing that is only begging the issue. For me Nnamdi Kanu is a hero in life or in death. He is asking like no one is doing now what rightly belongs to Ndigbo.
“Yes you stopped the Nigeria Biafra Civil War in 1970, 1970 to 1980 is ten years,1980 to 1990 is twenty years 1990 to year 2000 is thirty years, year 2000 to 2010 is forty years and 2010 to 2020 is fifty year, this is fifty three years after the civil war ended and the so called Nigeria State is still beating grudges against Ndigbo, why, what did Igbo people do wrong.
“Like I asked in my previous write ups that before the Nigeria Biafra Civil war, who were at the elm of affairs of the economic life of this nation, was it not Igbomen, who were at the helm of affairs in the educational sector and institutions in this nation, was it not Ndigbo, who were at the people at the helm of affairs in the transportation industry in Nigeria, were they not Igbomen, and what happened in those days? Yes I remember that in those days, Igbo men went up to the North and established Secondary Schools, like Igbo Grammar School in Kano, Igbo Union School all over places that trained both Igbo’s and non Igbo’s and people from other nationalities living in NigeriaIgbomen. Is that the crime or sin of Igbo man in Nigeria.
“Igbo men were given bushes to develop because people didn’t want them in cities, and they gave them bushes they called Sabon Geri in the Northern language and Igbo men opened and developed them to cities, is that the crime or sin of Igbo men in Nigeria. You go to the Yoruba land all the swampy areas in Yoruba land particularly in Lagos State they pushed Ndigbo into the swamps and they recovered and reclaimed those swamps from the rivers and developed them to cities,is that the sin and crime of Ndigbo.
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“I really want to know why those who are said to be pleading for the release of Mazi Nnamdi Kanu, why they are doing that, if Nnamdi Kanu says that “Nigeria is a zoo, is he far from the truth with what is happening in Nigeria today. A place where somebody will have ecrimes and offenses and you will leave the person and be chasing an innocent person to punish, leaving the substance, object and chasing shadow. Nigeria leave offenders and pursue law abiding people. Law breaker are everywhere walking free while innocent people are humiliated and punished on daily basis.
“In Nigeria today Asari Dokubo said to be a former Nigerian Delta militant brandishes AK 47 in the open to all Nigerians and threatens whoever he likes, ex-militant, the military and Police saw him and nobody talked up till this moment but Nnamdi Kanu never lifted a gun and you have called him terrorist and all sorts of names. When he say that this place is a zoo, is he far from the truth,‘is this not a zoo where the lion will eat every animal and brandish all sorts of power and kill anything it want to kill.
“If anyone or group is pleading with Northern elders and Asari Dokubo to release Nnamdi Kanu, you are simply making a mistake, such is a misplaced plea, they are not the owners of and have no such power to determine who is free and who is not. I am not sure that Ohaneze Ndigbo as led by respectable Chief Sir Emmanuel Iwuanyanwu will ever descend to such level to plead for the release of Kanu when the court of competent jurisdiction has set him free from every charge they maliciously leveled against him.
“Pleading to who, Nnamdi Kanu will rather chose to stay in detention instead of accepting his freedom on condition of such plea. He is never a coward. He is a time bomb waiting to explode in the hands of Nigeria and those holding him.
“The earlier you release him the better for you and the country, so anybody who is pleading for his release is making a hell of mistake, and no tru Igbo man will plead for his release, it is those sell outs that will do such rubbish.
“For me Nnamdi Kanu is the voice of Igbo people, if you imprison him you have imprisoned every Igbo man. What type of life are we still living in this nation. We are to most militarized section of this country.
“The North where you have Boko Haram and Bandits is free and you vacant travel long distances from Jos to Maiduguri, Jos to Kasuna, Jos to Sokoto in the night you will not see any military or police check points but here in the East, every two poles you see Militaryand Police check points, not that they are providing security but extorting motorists and traders.”