By: Toby Chuks, Onitsha
The good people of Ogidi community, the country home of late literary icon Professor Chinua Achebe in Anambra State have appealed to President Bola Ahmed Tinubu to unconditionally free the leader of Indigenous People of Biafra (IPOB) from detention.
Making the appeal on behalf of Ogidi community during his Ofala festival, the traditional ruler of Ogidi HRM Igwe Pharm Alex Onyido expressed the hope that unconditional release of the leader of IPOB leader will definitely reduce crime and insurgency in South East zone.
The Monarch said that the upsurge in crime, particularly kidnapping and cultism was being tackled in Ogidi despite the fact it is a general phenomenon all over the South East states.
“I am appealing to President Bola Ahmed Tinubu to come to the aid of the South East region and effect the release of Nnamdi Kanu. This singular gesture of Mr. President will no doubts, mitigate and reduce the incidents of insurgency and other criminal activities in the South East. There is no gainsaying that continued detention of Mazi Kanu is disrupting the development of the South region with youth restiveness as the by-product.
“Let it be known that, until the basic human rights are equally guaranteed to all without regard to ethnic nationality; until there are no more first class and second class citizens of our dear country and until the ethnic nationality of Nigerian citizens is of no more significance than their national citizenship, until that day the dream of lasting peace, rule of law and national integration will remain an oscillating illusion to be pursued but never attained,” he said.
He said that the community set up security committee to supervise and control different challenges of security breach, saying that they are working with security agencies to organize youth convention where seasoned resource persons were invited to address the youths on the current insurgency and dangers of cultism.
