- Family, IPOB, lawyers, military, UK in search of ‘missing’ IPOB leader
By Onyedika Agbedo (Lagos) and Okey Sampson (Aba)
Where is Nnamdi Kanu, leader of the Indigenous People of Biafra (IPOB)? Is he alive, dead, in hiding or in military custody? These are the questions on many lips, as his whereabouts has purportedly remained unknown since troops of the Nigerian Army allegedly invaded his house in Afara-ukwu Ibeku, Umuahia, Abia State on September 14, this year. His immediate family, lawyers, IPOB and the British High Commission in Nigeria insist that they had neither seen nor heard from him since the incident. But the Nigerian Army, which allegedly raided his house during the ongoing Operation Python Dance II in the South-east, also says he is not in their custody. From every indication, there is an ongoing manhunt for the IPOB leader, either for good or bad. Besides, he would due to appear in court on October 17, this year, over alleged treason offences levelled against him by the Federal Government. He just ought to be there if his sureties would not get what they didn’t bargain for.
IPOB had in the wake of the incident issued a statement through its Media and Publicity Secretary, Mr. Emma Powerful, alleging that troops killed many of its members at Kanu’s house and arrested some others, wondering whether Kanu was killed or whisked away. The group later gave the Federal Government and South-east governors seven days to produce Kanu or be prepared to face the consequences that would come from them.
“We are giving the Federal Government and South-east governors seven days to produce or tell us the condition of our leader, Mazi Nnamdi Kanu. If he still alive, they should charge him to court because if anything happens to him, the South-east governors should bear the consequences after the expiration of this notice, or they should hasten to build more prisons and acquire more weapons which they will use to kill more Biafrans,” Powerful said.
Kanu’s immediate family has also maintained that they have not had contact with him since the raid and therefore wants the Nigerian Army to produce him alive or dead.
“It is either they captured him or killed him when they attacked our house. If they captured him, they should release him to the police and if they killed him, they should produce the corpse because he was last seen moments before the raid,” his younger brother, Prince Emmanuel Kanu said recently.
Also, the IPOB leader’s team of lawyers led by Mr. Ifeanyi Ejiofor, declared him missing after the raid. And to buttress their claim, Ejiofor filed a suit before the Federal High Court in Abuja on Wednesday, September 27, praying for an order directing the Chief of Army Staff, Lt.-Gen. Tukur Buratai, to produce Kanu in court on the next adjourned date of his case, “taking cognizance of the fact that his disappearance was as a result of the invasion of his residence in Umuahia, Abia State.”
“The fact is that they are in a position to produce him at the next adjourned date. It is public knowledge that my client had before his house was invaded, always made himself available for trial. He never evaded trial as he made it known that he was ready. If he wanted to jump bail, he would have done so immediately he was released from prison. But he did not run.
“The last time I spoke with my client was the day his house was invaded by soldiers. He called me and complained that he was being attacked by soldiers, who he said, were shooting sporadically. Since then, I have not heard from my client again.
“If he is alive, they should tell the court on that day. They will not only explain to the trial court, but will also produce the soldiers that went to his home to attack him,” Ejiofor told journalists recently.
But the Defence Headquarters (DHQ) has maintained that the IPOB leader is not under its custody and that it could not be responsible for his disappearance.
Speaking with journalists recently in Abuja, the Director of Defence Information, Major General John Enenche, explained that the military was not holding Kanu and that it was not the responsibility of DHQ to declare him wanted.
“Nobody raided Kanu’s home; not from the information I got. I was watching it live; I was monitoring it live and speaking with them (soldiers) on the ground.
“The people that came out from there (Kanu’s house) that I saw were the Biafra Security Service and Biafra National Guard. I think I later confirmed that there was nothing to actually justify the roadblocks mounted by IPOB. I saw the militancy; nobody told me and I saw the action there. We are still investigating.”
Enenche contended that it was premature to assume that the Federal High Court, Abuja would hold the military accountable for the disappearance of Kanu, stressing that there was no need to jump the gun.
Meanwhile, the development has also attracted the attention of the United Kingdom (UK) as Kanu is also a British national. As such, the UK has also been mounting pressure on the Federal Government to provide information on the whereabouts of the IPOB leader.
The Press Officer of the UK High Commission in Nigeria, Joe Abuku, told journalists recently that the inquiry was as a result of reports that Kanu has not been seen since the September 14 military action in his house.
He said that the British government had asked the Federal Government whether Kanu was alive or dead. “We are seeking urgent clarification from the Nigerian authorities about the status and whereabouts of Mr. Kanu, a British-Nigerian man, who has been reported missing since September 14,” Abuku stated.
Nevertheless, there was a dramatic twist to the issue last Monday when former governor of Abia State, Dr. Orji Uzor Kalu, revealed in an interview he granted a national newspaper that the man whose whereabouts is generating so much anxiety in the land had escaped to London.
The former governor said that he got his information from Kanu’s family members and debunked the claim that the IPOB leader was arrested by soldiers last September 14.
“Kanu was not taken away by the military. Kanu went to Malaysia from where he travelled to the United Kingdom. Nnamdi Kanu is in London right now as we speak. He was not arrested by anybody. He left the country on his own.
“One of his relations has spoken to me and explained everything because I wanted to see him and talk to him wherever he was and see how I could meet some Federal Government officials on his issue. I also wanted to see ways of talking to the President about him, and find common ground but his family told me that he has left the country, unless they are lying to me. I believe, whether he had left the country or not, he is not with the military because I asked the Commander of the 14 Brigade, Brig.-Gen. A.K Ibrahim, who is a very fine and good soldier, well educated and dedicated, and he told me that they don’t know his whereabouts and I am sure, the Department of State Services has the same information. I also visited the commissioner of police and he said he didn’t know his whereabouts and that they are also looking for him,” Kalu said.
Similarly, a civil society group, the Advocate of Social Justice for All (ASJA), recently expressed the belief that Kanu has found his way back to the United Kingdom and threatened to occupy the embassy of the UK in Nigeria if the IPOB leader were not extradited.
In a recent statement signed by its executive director, Asongo Venatius, the group accused the UK of harbouring Kanu, whom they described as a terrorist, noting that the proper thing to do was to extradite him.
The group claimed that Kanu escaped from Nigeria to Cameroon from where he travelled to Malaysia and then to the UK.
“The proper thing is for the UK to have allowed Kanu to answer the treason charges against him in Nigeria before making any intervention. We find it supremely irresponsible for the UK High Commission in Nigeria to have issued its statement seeking clarification on Kanu when it knows it was in cahoots with the terrorist leader.
“The irresponsible behaviour became diabolic when the UK issued him an emergency travel document in collaboration with crisis merchants. This is the worst form of double standard ever. We are at a loss to understand what the UK Mission in Nigeria or even the home country stands to gain by mischievously sinking so low to aid a terrorist and facilitate his sneaking out of the country. This is a disgrace to the government and people of the UK; it is a blot that can only be erased by the government of the UK flushing out Kanu and all other bad elements that are trying to sabotage Nigeria.
“If the UK truly believes in freedom, it must extradite Kanu, who is facing charges in a Nigerian court, so that those who stood surety to perfect his bail conditions do not end up in jail if he fails to show up for his trial.”
In an interview with Sunday Sun on the issue, Kanu’s younger brother, Emmanuel, however, reinforced the stance of the family and IPOB that his (Kanu) whereabouts was unknown.
“Ever since that day the military invaded our house and killed about 22 people and our dog, Jack; and took so many people away, we have not set eyes on our brother, Nnamdi. We have been in search of him but we have not seen him.
“He was within the house before the invasion took place but we have not set our eyes on him ever since. The soldiers should produce Nnamdi whether dead or alive. If he is alive, hand him over to the police; if he is dead, give us his corpse. That’s what we are asking for.
“All the intelligence units of IPOB have been searching for Nnamdi but have not seen or heard anything from him and we want them to produce his corpse if they have killed him. The Nigerian Army denying that they do not know the whereabouts of Nnamdi is totally not true; they have been known as people who lie so much. They evaded our house without any court order,” he stated.