It’s duty of security agents to locate him, he says

From Juliana Taiwo-Obalonye and Sunday Ani

Abia State Governor, Okezie Ikpeazu, declared, again, at the presidential Villa, Abuja, yesterday,  he does not know the whereabouts of leader of the proscribed Indigenous People of Biafra (IPOB), Nnamdi Kanu.

The governor told State House Correspondents,  after he met Vice-President Yemi Osinbajo, yesterday, behind closed doors, that those looking for Kanu may have information about his whereabouts.

“Kanu is my brother but, he is not in the custody of Abia State Government.

“Those who are looking for him may have better knowledge and have the capacity to determine the location of anyone in Nigeria. There are people who are trained to track people and it is their responsibility, not mine,” the governor said.

Following the invasion of Kanu’s family house in Abia State in September, by the Nigerian army, his whereabouts has remained unknown.

Soldiers of Operation Python Dance II invaded his family residence, following alleged escalation of his group’s lawlessness.

After the incident, Kanu’s relatives accused the military of being in custody of the IPOB leader, while the army equally denied knowledge of his whereabouts.

Since the September invasion of Kanu’s family residence, various accounts of his whereabouts have emerged, with some claiming that he has escaped to the United Kingdom (UK), where he is also a citizen.

There are yet other Nigerians, who believe that he might have been killed by the soldiers during the attack on his home.

Former governor of Abia State, Dr. Orji Uzor Kalu, reportedly said Kanu’s brother told him that the IPOB leader had fled the country to the UK, through Malaysia.

Kanu is facing trial for alleged treason and he was supposed to appear in court last Tuesday.

Consequently, Senator Enyinnaya Abaribe  who stood as surety for him, is also at a crossroad.

Abaribe has been asked to produce Kanu but he also does not know his whereabouts.

Kanu is facing trial along with three others, and a fourth co-defendant, Bright Chimezie, who is yet to be added to the list of defendants.

The governor also spoke on the investment and trade potentials created by his renewed vigour to boost business in the state, pointing out that the shoe and textile industry, which the state is famous for, had already recorded N1.4 billion turnover in the past year.