The consideration for the release of the imprisoned leader of the Indigenous People of Biafra (IPOB), Nnamdi Kanu, on bail has been stepped down by the Senate.
The Senate President, Godswill Akpabio, in stepping down the prayer, said that it “will be sub judice, adding that it was offensive to the Senate House Rules.
The Senate during deliberations on a motion by Senator Izunaso Osita (APC, Imo-West), also resolved against any political solutions to Kanu’s incarceration, which has lasted for over two years since he was arrested in Kenya in 2021, and repatriated to Nigeria.
Recall that the Court of Appeal in Abuja had in October 2022 dismissed the remaining seven-counts after Justice Binta Nyako struck out eight-counts from the 15-count charge earlier preferred against Kanu by the Nigerian government.
The appellate court ordered Kanu’s release on account of his unlawful extradition from Kenya to Nigeria to face the terrorism charges.
But the government appealed the decision at the Supreme Court, declining to release the IPOB leader.
The Red Chamber also dismissed calls by the sponsor of the motion for a political solution to the IPOB leaders’ ordeal.
In the motion, Senator Izunaso had called the attention of the legislature to the loss of “thousands of innocent lives” arising from the crisis.
Condemning in totality the weekly ‘sit at home’ order in the region, the lawmakers urged the Federal Government to collaborate with the Finnish government and extradite Simon Ekpa, the Chief protagonist of the sit-at-home order troubling the South-East, from Finland for prosecution in Nigeria.
This is as the Chamber further resolved to invite the Minister of Foreign Affairs, when appointed, and relevant stakeholders to carry out thorough investigation, as well as bring other sponsors of the act to book.
The resolutions followed a motion titled: “Condemning the disruptive nature of ‘sit at home’ demonstration in South-East Nigeria”, by Senator Osita Izunaso (APC Imo West) and co-sponsored by 14 other senators during plenary.
Senator Izunaso, while leading debate on the motion, lamented that “thousands of lives have been lost since this act started, and properties worth over a trillion Naira have been destroyed which has resulted in investors leaving the region.”
He added that the ‘sit at home’ civil disobedience in the region has led to the disruption and destruction of economic activities as well as immeasurable losses for businesses, workers and the local economy, noting that “when people are forced to stay at home and businesses remain closed, productivity declines, and income is reduced, thereby affecting livelihoods and economic growth.”
The lawmaker further regretted that the act disrupts the education of students leading to missed classes and delay in academic progress, stressing that “such prolonged disruptions have long-term effects on students’ learning outcomes and educational development.”
“Disruption of essential public services such as healthcare, transportation and waste disposal continues to have severe impact during the ‘sit at home’ protests which adversely affect the well-being and safety of the general population living in the South-East.
“The ‘sit at home’ protests continue to lead to acts of violence and clashes with the law enforcement agencies, which have led to uncountable losses of lives of innocent people, security agents and the protesters. As this increases, the potential for criminal elements to take advantage of the situation to engage in looting or other unlawful activities while the people stay at home,” he lamented.
Senator Izunaso, however, warned that “if the activities of Simon Ekpa, who is issuing the illegal ‘sit at home’ orders is not checked, he may succeed in corrupting the minds of Nigerian youths and turning them against the government, which is tantamount to treasonable felony.”
Speaking with journalists after the plenary, the lawmaker insisted that a political approach remains the best way to handle the case, saying that the ‘sit at home’ protests and destruction of lives and properties by enforcers of the orders in the South East would stop with his release.
He equally stressed the need for amnesty for the region in order to discourage the activities of miscreants and bring respite to the area.
