New Telegraph

Ohanaeze hasn’t spoken, still observing devt –Obiozor

The mainstream Igbo socio-cultural organisation, Ohanaeze Ndigbo has dismissed a statement credited to it by some media outfits and noted that it is yet to officially react to the re-arrest and extradition of the leader of the Indigenous People of Biafra (IPOB), Mazi Nnamdi Kanu to Nigeria by the Federal Government.

The group in a statement circulated to journalists in Enugu Wednesday by its National Publicity Secretary, Chief Alex Ogbonnia said that Ohanaeze Ndigbo, led by Ambassador Professor George Obiozor, has not issued any press statement on the matter, and advised the general public to be wary of fake groups. Ohanaeze, however, threatened that it would not hesitate to take any group who continues to use the group’s name to issue statements to court. “Ohanaeze Ndigbo as the apex Igbo cultural organisation does not issue public statements in a hurry. “We hereby dissociate ourselves from the said press release and also warn those mischief makers, impostors and charlatans peddling the name of Ohanaeze Ndigbo to achieve selfish gains to desist from that shameful misadventure.

“In the event of further breach of this warning Ohanaeze Ndigbo will be compelled to invoke the full weight of the law to deal with the offenders,” the group said. And in a related development, civil society groups in the South East, including Civil Liberties Organisation (CLO), Voice of the East (VEAST) and Campaign for Democracy (CD), rose from an emergency meeting in Enugu Wednesday with a demand for a fair and open trial for Kanu. Kanu, who has been standing trial bordering on treason charges by the Federal Government in a Federal High Court in Abuja, had escaped from the country when the military invaded his country home in Umuahia, Abia State in 2017 before he was rearrested and extradited back to Nigeria and re-arraigned in court on Tuesday.

Reacting to the development the civil society groups blamed Britain and the Interpol (International Police) for Kanu’s abduction and repatriation to Nigeria, but insisted that Kanu’s arrest will not end the quest for Biafra. A statement signed by Comrade Kindness Jonah, Convener, Voice from the East, on behalf of the groups, insisted that in the alternative, Kanu should be released unconditionally, arguing that he is not a terrorist. The statement noted: “That the Trial of Nnamdi Kanu must be handled in an open court.

That even in the said open court, the Jury of Judges to adjudicate on the case must not be majority Muslims. That even if Muslim judges must be there, the lead judge must not be a Muslim.” The groups stated that contrary to insinuations, South East was relatively secure, but that the insecurity in the zone was allegedly being created by the Nigerian police and Army under the tutelage of the Federal Government.

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