By Seyi Babalola
Edwin Clark, Convener of the Pan Niger Delta Forum (PANDEF), has asked President Bola Tinubu to direct the Attorney-General of the Federation (AGF) and Minister of Justice, Lateef Fagbemi, to drop all charges against Nnamdi Kanu, the detained leader of the proscribed Indigenous People of Biafra (IPOB).
Clark made the plea in an open letter to the President on Sunday.
In the letter, the PANDEF convener requested that the president exercise his executive power to release the IPOB leader, as was done in the instance of Miyetti Allah president Abdullahi Bodejo.
The letter read in part: “I have never supported the activities of IPOB under the leadership of Nnamdi Kanu, but today, Nigeria is a broken country where many groups and nationalities have cried foul to the way Nigeria has been going since 1999 because of the military constitution imposed on Nigerians by the military.
“Today, our economy is failing, our democracy is failing, our education and health institutions are collapsing, the youths are jobless, and some people are treated as second-class citizens while a few enjoy the fruits of the so-called democracy we are passing through. Coupled with the violence and insecurity in the South-East, if allowed to continue, the consequences will be very unpleasant for all Nigerians.”
Clark said the unity of Nigeria can only be achieved and sustained if every part of the country is treated equally, adding that no one could play God over Nigeria and no section owns the country more than any other section.
According to him, Kanu’s release will end the Monday sit-at-home order in the South-East and restore peace in the country.
He further stated that the Igbos should be reintegrated into the mainstream of Nigerian politics to ensure equality among the regions.
“Let me re-emphasise the importance and urgency of reintegrating the Igbos into the mainstream of Nigeria, where their region will be equal with other regions in all ramifications, meaning that they should be fully and unconditionally united or be admitted into the union of Nigeria as it was before the civil war,” Clark said.
