Apex Igbo socio-cultural organisation, Ohanaeze Ndigbo, yesterday, declared that it would not abandon leader of the Indigenous People of Biafra (IPOB), Mazi Nnamdi Kanu during his travail.
This is as Director General of Voice of Nigeria (VON), Osita Okechukwu, applauded President General of Ohanaeze, George Obiozor, and his executive for their patriotic, constitutional and democratic stance on the Indigenous People of Biafra (IPOB) leader matter.
It disclosed that it had already constituted a legal team led by its National Legal Adviser and other Igbo leaders to
Ohanaeze dismissed some concocted material circulating in the social media indicative that the president general of the apex Igbo organisation, had made a mockery of the Igbo self-determination agitator.
National Publicity Secretary of Ohanaeze, Alex Ogbonnia, said silence in this circumstance would mean giving validity to such a fallacy by the unsuspecting public.
Describing Obiozor as polished, accomplished and an already acclaimed reflective scholar of world renown, Ohanaeze said no amount of blackmail would demean his global stature.
For purpose of clarity, Ohanaeze said its president general’s position on the re-arraignment of Kanu had been made through a statement last Sunday, wherein the group had volunteered legal services and contacted eminent Igbo in defence of the IPOB leader.
“The position of Obiozor over the current national issues has been articulated in a pamphlet- The Journey So Far. It needs to be restated that as much as Ohanaeze shares in the agony and agitation of our people over the orchestrated Igbo marginalisation and other forms of indignity, we believe a restructured Nigeria that guarantees justice, equity and fairness will be more capacious for the Igbo adventurism, entrepreneurship and cosmopolitanism.
“We have at various times condemned publicly a violent paradigm to the genuine Igbo agitation and urged our sons and daughters to heed our advice. But now that the genie has left the bottle, the Igbo culture compels a father to show concern over the welfare of his child,” Ogbonnia said.
Speaking with newsmen in Enugu, foundation member of the All Progressives Congress (APC), Okechukwu said: “I am in this page with Ohanaeze that due process of the law should be strictly adhered to, which they capped with setting up legal team to monitor the court proceedings. I salute their candour, unlike others who are sentimental.”
He said some groups had already given Kanu a clean bill of health before the trial commenced, but added that as a Zikist, who believed in harmonious and corporate Nigeria, those were pure sentiments.
