Leader of the Independent People of Biafra, Nnamdi Kanu, wrote the
letter in which he apologised for unsavory remarks he made about
President Muhammadu Buhari, ex-president Goodluck Jonathan and Igbo
leaders, contrary to claims by IPOB and his lawyer.
The PUNCH had reported on Wednesday that Kanu had expressed regret for referring to President Muhammadu Buhari as a terrorist, evil and a paedophile in his radio broadcasts.
Kanu, who said he intended to write a private letter to Buhari to express his apology to the President, also apologised to former President Goodluck Jonathan and Igbo elders for “some uncomplimentary things” he said about them.
IPOB, his family, and lawyer, Vincent Obetta, however, denied that he apologised to anyone.
Obetta claimed that the Federal Government was only trying undermine the 48-year-old and his cause.
“The government is using every instrument to puncture what we are doing,” he said.
Documents obtained from the court, however, showed that the apology was
contained in a handwritten statement by the Biafran leader.
Despite apologising for casting aspersions “on the person and the office of the President of the Federal Republic of Nigeria,” Kanu was adamant that he would continue to fight for Biafra.
He said IPOB’s secessionist agenda was informed by the “incessant hardship, lack of holistic development in the socio-economic landscape of Nigeria, lack of youth employment, corruption in high offices and economic regression.”
He added that the agitation by IPOB, which, according to him, was founded in London in 2012 by a group of people from the South-South and South-East regions of the country, was in line with the United Nations Charter on the Rights of Indigenous Peoples ratified by African countries, including Nigeria.
The PUNCH had reported on Wednesday that Kanu had expressed regret for referring to President Muhammadu Buhari as a terrorist, evil and a paedophile in his radio broadcasts.
Kanu, who said he intended to write a private letter to Buhari to express his apology to the President, also apologised to former President Goodluck Jonathan and Igbo elders for “some uncomplimentary things” he said about them.
Obetta claimed that the Federal Government was only trying undermine the 48-year-old and his cause.
“The government is using every instrument to puncture what we are doing,” he said.
Despite apologising for casting aspersions “on the person and the office of the President of the Federal Republic of Nigeria,” Kanu was adamant that he would continue to fight for Biafra.
He said IPOB’s secessionist agenda was informed by the “incessant hardship, lack of holistic development in the socio-economic landscape of Nigeria, lack of youth employment, corruption in high offices and economic regression.”
He added that the agitation by IPOB, which, according to him, was founded in London in 2012 by a group of people from the South-South and South-East regions of the country, was in line with the United Nations Charter on the Rights of Indigenous Peoples ratified by African countries, including Nigeria.
Photo: Nnami Kanu’s handwritten statement apologising to Buhari, Jonathan
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Oleh
Ukpe Thompson