The Special Counsel to Nnamdi Kanu, leader of the Indigenous People of Biafra, IPOB, Aloy Ejimakor, on Saturday, declared that the agitator and his followers don’t deserve jail term for demanding for the actualization of Biafra.
Ejimakor said imprisoning Kanu and other IPOB members for demanding for Biafra sets a dangerous precedent against free political expression.
In a statement titled, ‘Nobody deserves jail for demanding Biafra in strong words’, Ejimakor said democracy should address the issues behind the call for self-determination.
According to Ejimakor: “As Nigeria careens into another general election, let it be made clear that a true democracy must first address the underlying grievances driving the persistent call for self determination, rather than using draconian law enforcement and the judicial machinery to silence it.
“Demanding a separate State is, unarguably, a fundamental human right recognized under the laws of nations. It’s not a crime. Thus, merely advocating for Biafra – regardless of how strong, provocative or harsh the rhetoric may be does not equate to terrorism or treason.
“To be sure, imprisoning Mazi Nnamdi Kanu and other alleged IPOB members for their speech or stance sets a dangerous precedent against free political expression. Free speech inherently includes the right to express controversial, unpopular and challenging political stances.”
Ejimakor insisted that imprisoning people demanding for self-determination will only cause divisions, resentment, and criminalization.
He added: “Locking up people for demanding self-determination only deepens divisions, fuels resentment, and signals that dissent or agitation is criminalized. True nation-building requires dialogue and political engagement, not the criminalization of political aspiration, however inconvenient.”
He recalled that some countries were born from agitations stronger than that of Kanu.
Ejimakor also charged the Nigerian government to free all prisoners of conscience ahead of the 2027 elections.
He added: “Nations have been born from demands far louder and stronger than that of Mazi Nnamdi Kanu. Scotland held a referendum. Catalonia voted. Many African and European states exist because people refused to remain under arrangements they rejected. Strong language in that struggle is protected expression, not an offence.
“What is happening today is not a deserved prosecution or imprisonment. It is, instead, an unjust punishment of a political demand, and of those who refuse to be silent about Igbo exclusion, religious terror, and a broken federal arrangement. Words and radio broadcasts are being treated as more dangerous than actual killings (especially in the North) that go unpunished.
“A state that jails people for asking to leave while claiming to be democratic is not enforcing the law. It is enforcing fear and suppressing dissent by means of punishment. Dialogue and a political settlement, not prison, are the only honest answers to a demand that has become more persistent.
“Thus, for the sake of Nigeria’s peace and tranquility, the best way forward at this critical time is to free all prisoners of conscience before the 2027 general elections.”
