BY ANTHONY OCHELA, ABUJA
South-East Senate Caucus has urged the Attorney-General of the Federation, AGF, and Minister of Justice, Mr Lateef Fagbemi, SAN, to use an alternative conflict resolution mechanism to address the issue of the continued incarceration of the leader of the Indigenous People of Biafra, Mazi Nnamdi Kanu.
The group led by Senator Enyinanya Abaribe, who was a Deputy Governor of Abia State, made the plea during a meeting with Fagbemi at the headquarters of the Federal Ministry of Justice in Abuja, yesterday.
Addressing the media after the meeting, Abaribe said the caucus is of the opinion that “resolving the matter through the court has become intractable and Kanu’s continued detention is unfortunately being hijacked by criminal elements in the area to perpetrate mayhem which has led to deaths, even among security personnel”.
He also said “as result of the situation, the caucus met, 15 of us, and decided to approach the federal government through the AGF to find an alternative means of letting Kanu out of detention.”
He added that they were persuaded that getting Kanu out of detention will douse tension in the South-East, put an end to the activities of criminal masterminds, improve businesses and generally resolve the legal conundrum that has not augured well for the country.
Senator Abaribe revealed that they met with the detained IPOB leader on Monday and he is with them on their resolve to find an alternative mechanism to resolve the problem.
He said Kanu expressed pain that his continued detention is negatively impacting the people’s economic and social life.
According to him, Kanu believes “that his freedom will prove that he is not behind the heightened insecurity in the South-East and its perpetrators will no longer have a guise to hide behind his incarceration to sustain their activities.”
The caucus chairman noted that major stakeholders in the zone including the Governors Forum, traditional rulers, business leaders and even the clergy have severally spoken in the same vein.
The Senate caucus said with the powers of his office, the AGF can persuade President Bola Tinubu to find a workable solution outside the courts.
When asked about Mr Fagbemi’s reaction to their mission, Abaribe said he was open to it.
On June 19, Kanu had indicated interest in exploring an out-of-court settlement in the alleged terrorism charge preferred against him by the federal government.
Kanu’s lead counsel, Aloy Ejimakor, disclosed this to Justice Binta Nyako of the Federal High Court, Abuja upon resumed trial in the matter.
Ejimakor told the court that he had discussed the matter with the lawyer of the Attorney-General of the Federation, Chief Adegboyega Awomolo, SAN, on the last adjourned date.
At least, 50 members of the House of Representatives had also in June asked President Tinubu to order the release of Kanu.
In a letter addressed to Tinubu, the legislators, who identified themselves as Concerned Federal Lawmakers for Peace and Security in the South-East, asked the president to direct the AGF to invoke Section 174 of the 1999 constitution to release Kanu.
The aforementioned section confers on the AGF the power to discontinue at any stage, before judgement is delivered, any criminal proceeding instituted or undertaken by him or any other authority or person.
In recent months, there have been frequent calls for Kanu’s release, particularly from stakeholders from the South-East.
The IPOB leader has been in the custody of the Department of State Services, DSS, since he was extradited from Kenya in June 2021.
The region has witnessed an uptick in the activities of gunmen who violently enforce a sit-at-home order on Mondays to demand Kanu’s release.
