Afenifere Urges Tinubu to Release Nnamdi Kanu Immediately

The Yoruba socio-cultural group, AFENIFERE has called on President Bola Tinubu to immediately release the detained leader of the Indigenous People of Biafra (IPOB), Nnamdi Kanu.

In a statement issued on Tuesday after its general meeting, the group expressed concerns that Kanu’s fair trial may no longer be guaranteed due to ongoing controversial and conflicting legal proceedings in various courts.

The meeting was chaired by the group’s deputy leader, Oba Oladipo Olaitan, in Isanya-Ogbo, the hometown of leader Ayo Adebanjo.

The communique, signed by Olaitan and National Publicity Secretary Justice Faloye, argued that Kanu should be released in the interests of justice and national reconciliation, describing him as a political detainee with no justification for his continued detention.

Afenifere noted that since Kanu’s abduction in 2021 and subsequent repatriation to Nigeria, he has faced conflicting legal actions, which it believes undermine his right to a fair trial.

Additionally, the group announced the appointment of Barrister Dele Farotimi as the National Organising Secretary of Afenifere.

The communiqué also renewed the call for the establishment of state police, stressing that Nigeria’s vast territory and population cannot be adequately secured by a centralised, unitary police force.