The family of detained leader of the Indigenous People of Biafra (IPOB), Mazi Nnamdi Kanu, has rejected calls by the Nigerian Consultative Forum (NCF) for President Bola Tinubu to grant him amnesty, insisting that Kanu is innocent and should be released unconditionally.
In a statement issued yesterday by Prince Emmanuel Kanu and made available to Peoples Daily, the family described the NCF’s proposal as “reprehensible, defamatory, and legally indefensible.”
Over the weekend, NCF Chairman Dede Uzor Uzor and Secretary-General Dr. Frank Udemadu had urged the federal government to extend amnesty to both Abba Kyari, the former police officer facing drug and money laundering charges, and Nnamdi Kanu.
The Kanu family dismissed the comparison as “scandalous,” arguing that their son had been cleared by the Court of Appeal.
“Mazi Nnamdi Kanu was discharged and acquitted by the Nigerian Court of Appeal, a decision rooted in the jurisdictional nullity of his unlawful rendition,” Prince Emmanuel said.
The family maintained that under Section 36(9) of the 1999 Constitution, an acquittal by a superior court of record is final and inviolable, even by the Supreme Court.
They criticized the Supreme Court’s decision to remand Kanu despite the appellate ruling, calling it a “flagrant violation of constitutional law and a betrayal of democratic principles.”
On the attempt to equate Kanu with Kyari, the family said:
“Abba Kyari faces allegations of drug trafficking and money laundering, with full legal avenues to defend himself. Mazi Nnamdi Kanu, by contrast, is the leader of the Indigenous People of Biafra, the largest peaceful self-determination movement in Africa. To equate the two is not just intellectually dishonest—it is an international disgrace.”
The family issued a global appeal to world powers, human rights organizations, and foreign missions to intervene, stressing that the case is a test of Nigeria’s commitment to justice and the rule of law.
“The Kanu Family stands resolute: justice must prevail. Mazi Nnamdi Kanu must be freed now, and those responsible for his persecution must be held accountable,” the statement concluded.
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