Peter Obi tells the Federal Government to release all Biafra Activist

A former governor of Anambra state, Peter Obi, says the use of force or the continued incarceration of Biafra activists is not a solution to the growing agitations for Biafra

Peter Obi advises the federal government to engage the pro-Biafra activists in dialogue as a means of finding a lasting solution to the problem - The former governor says the Biafra issue is a very delicate matter that must be treated with caution

 

Peter Obi gave the warning on Thursday, April 6, in Owerri after a closed door meeting with Governor Rochas Okorocha of Imo state. The former governor said the use of force or the continued incarceration of Biafra activists is not a solution to the growing agitations, the News Agency of Nigerian (NAN) reports.

“The federal government should, rather than apply force, engage the players in dialogue as a means of finding a lasting solution to the problem, especially the issue of Biafra.

“Our people won’t support the use of force against those agitating for Biafra; it is a very delicate matter that must be treated with caution. “As a matter of fact, the federal government should release all Biafra activists that are currently in detention to begin the process of meaningful dialogue,” Obi said.

Although details of the meeting were not made known to journalists, Mr Obi said that the visit was a private one.

“I am a member of the People’s Democratic Party (PDP) and I am not dumping the party for any other party, I am not joining the APC, I am here on a private visit and that is all, nothing more,” he said.

This is not the first time the former governor would be calling for the release of Biafra activists, FLASHNBLOG reported that on Thursday, March 23, 2017, in Enugu, Obi had also noted that the use of force cannot win the current tension between the Igbos and the federal government.

Peter Obi’s warning comes shortly after the Indigenous People of Biafra, IPOB) alleged that the federal government may have decided to commit its leader, Mazi Nnamdi Kanu, to prison through unconstitutional secret trial. According to FLASHNBLOG IPOB claimed the trial judge, Justice Binta Nyako, of the Federal High Court, Abuja may have made up her mind to go on with a secret trial as the court rules on the application.

IPOB Spokespersons, Dr Ikenna Chinaka and Mrs Grace Ukpai, in a statement on Wednesday April 5, said the group would like to place the judicial establishment of Nigeria on notice that the integrity of its entire legal machinery hinges on the outcome of the ruling.

The group said it was prudent to remind Justice Nyako and the entire Nigerian public and the world at large that there are existing legal interpretations of the provisions of the constitution of Nigeria regarding the mode of criminal trials in civil courts which cannot be departed from.