Biafra: My husband's arrest has popularised Biafra agitation - Kanu's wife

 

Mrs. Uchechi Okwu-Kanu, the wife of the detained leader of the Indigenous Peoples of Biafra (IPOB) and Radio Biafra Director, Nnamdi Kanu, has said that the arrest and continued incarceration of her husband has brought the agitation for the Biafra state to global limelight.

She noted that Kanu’s ordeal has made Biafra agitators to achieve more results within a short time and created more awareness on the plight of the Igbo in Nigeria’s skewed federation.

In an interview with the United Kingdom (UK)-based International Business Times, Mrs Kanu said that although she had been greatly devastated by the continued absence of her husband from home, her faith in Biafra Republic remains unshaken.

Her words: “The arrest of Nnamdi Kanu is the catalyst driving the new agitation. Hence, what could have taken years to achieve in terms of awareness and mobilisation was achieved within a short time. And this is a testimony to the fact that IPOB, through Radio Biafra, did a lot of ground work prior to the arrest.

“If you recall, I mentioned in December that most people have been awakened by the call of this cause and you will agree with me now that almost every being in the whole world has Biafra on their lips both ‘for’ and ‘against’.

“The absence of my husband is mind-bending, it is inexplicable. I am practically a zombie but I am holding up,” she stated.

Mrs. Kanu said that she had lost faith in the Nigerian system, especially the judiciary, which she no longer believes is independent from the “executive and the legislative arms”.

The IPOB leader’s wife accused President Muhammadu Buhari of running what she described as “Kakistocracy” and expressed concern at the level of his administration’s disregard for court orders.

“The President once again proved to the world that he encapsulates ‘Kakistocracy’ (military junta) in his government. He told the world in his media chat that he controls the judiciary when he said: ‘Nnamdi Kanu will jump bail, hence we will not allow that,’” she said.

Okwu-Kanu lamented that: “Buhari controls the law so there is no faith in the judiciary. If the masses cannot get justice from whence it should be given because it is controlled by the government, then there shouldn’t be a court after all.”

She however said that she was happy with her husband’s new defence team headed by Chuks Muoma (SAN) and expressed the confidence that the team can successfully defend her husband.

Mrs. Kanu specifically commended the legal team for filing a lawsuit against the federal government over her husband’s continued detention at the Economic Community for West African States (ECOWAS) Court.

“The new team is working tirelessly to ensure the right justice is given to him. They have taken the trial to another level – to the ECOWAS Court,” she said.

At the sub-regional court, Kanu is demanding $800 million (£552m) compensation for his arrest and detention by the Federal Government.

Source