Biafra: Rights group asks Buhari to stop ‘political persecution’ of Nnamdi Kanu

By Joseph Erunke 

A pro-democracy Non-Governmental Organization under the aegis of Human Rights Writers Association, HURIWA, has asked President Muhammadu Buhari to end what it calls “persistent political persecution” of Mr Nnamdi Kanu, the Director of the Europe based Radio Biafra and leader of the Indigenous People of Biafra, IPOB.

The group also called for negotiated and peaceful resolution through constructive dialogues of the agitations by some youth for the actualization of the state of Biafra.

HURIWA, in a statement jointly endorsed by its National Coordinator, Emmanuel Onwubiko and the National Media Affaires Director, Miss Zainab Yusuf, said the reported success of yesterday’s “stay-at-home” order by IPOB, and its affiliates in the South East, was a “clear demonstration that it was now more than ever urgent that meaningful and constructive dialogues towards a peaceful resolution to the groundswell of agitations for self-determination are started.” It said the prolonged detention under dehumanizing conditions of the founder of the Radio Biafra by the president amounted to the use of psychological and physical torture against voices of dissent. 

“The pattern of unduly overstretched detention and willful disrespect to the reported bail orders represents a serious breach of the human rights of the detained leader of IPOB and an abuse of power particularly since it is a notorious fact that twice the government disobeyed a binding bail orders granted in favor of Nnamdi Kanu by competent courts of law, “he said. 

The group submitted that under the constitutional norms which we operate the head of the executive branch of government is obliged to comply with binding decisions of competent courts of law just as it further stated that under section 36 (5) of the Constitution of the Federal Republic of Nigeria all accused persons are presumed innocent until a contrary determination is made by the court of law.

Source: vanguardngr.com