Aloy Ejimakor, Special Counsel to Nnamdi Kanu, leader of the Indigenous People of Biafra, IPOB, has accused former Niger Delta militant leader Asari Dokubo of delegitimizing the amnesty granted him by late President Musa Yar’ Adua.
Ejimakor was reacting to Dokubo’s call that President Bola Tinubu should not release Kanu.
After visiting Tinubu last week, Dokubo said releasing Kanu would inflame insecurity in the Southeast.
He noted that Kanu’s release would amount to a reward for criminality in the Southeast.
Condemning Dokubo’s remark, Ejimakor maintained that Kanu was not a criminal.
A statement by Ejimakor reads partly: “Dokubo should be well-advised that the conduct that led to Nnamdi Kanu’s extraordinary rendition, detention and trial is called ‘self-determination’, which has been held by a competent Nigerian court – in the celebrated case of Sunday Igboho – to be legal and not criminal.
“Dokubo has, himself, once agitated for self-determination by demanding the creation of the Niger Delta Republic, which led to his long incarceration in the recent past. Thus, by calling on President Tinubu not to release Nnamdi Kanu, Dokubo has unwittingly delegitimized the generous amnesty granted him by late President Yar’Adua, affirmed and honoured by former Presidents Jonathan and Buhari but yet to be affirmed and honoured by President Tinubu.
“Finally, Dokubo should be minded that the matter of Nnamdi Kanu, even though capable of being addressed politically by President Tinubu, now lies before several courts of Nigeria, Kenya, Britain and two international tribunals, before whom several Lawyers are separately leading the legal efforts to undo the crushing injustice being levied against Mazi Nnamdi Kanu and members of Indigenous People of Biafra.
“Thus, ending Nnamdi Kanu’s extant extrajudicial detention is capable of springing from a sound political decision of the President, because Nnamdi Kanu committed no crime. Conversely, his detention can also end with a faithful implementation of any of the victories he has garnered in Nigerian courts and the international community.”
