By Adadareporters
A faction of Ohanaeze youth group, under the umbrella of Ohanaeze Youth Council (OYC), led by Igboayaka O. Igboayaka, Wednesday, reacted to the revelation of Mr Femi Adesina, former media aide to ex-President Muhammadu Buhari, that former President Buhari mooted assassination of Mazi Nnamdi Kanu instead of renditioning him from Kenya to Nigeria in 2021.
Igboayaka, who addressed newsmen in Abuja, said the revelation ‘should shock the conscience of not only Nigerians but that of Britain and the international communities’.
According to the youth leader, “For Nigerians with awareness of Buhari’s approach to the insecurity that ravaged the North during his term, the idea that he considered assassinating a self-determination agitator like Mazi Nnamdi Kanu says a lot about the disdain and tribalistic mindset he had for Ndigbo and for freedom to hold political opinion.”
Comrade Igboayaka stressed that, “For Britain, this very revelation is all that it needs to act quickly to protect the life and liberty of her citizen, Mazi Nnamdi Kanu and Indigenous People of Biafra group. It is baffling that in 1984, Britain severely punished Nigeria for attempting to rendition the late Alhaji Umaru Dikko but from all indications and empirical evidence, it has not demonstrated sufficient interest in protecting Mazi Nnamdi Kanu, a bonafide British citizen.
“This is a worrisome and suspicious to the Igbo race over British political and diplomatic romance with the undemocratic tyrannical government of Nigeria. Therefore, we call on the British Prime Minister Rishi Sunak to do the right thing without further ado.”
OYC also called on all men and women of good conscience and the international community ‘to pivot, leverage on this troubling revelation as a reference point for demanding the unconditional release of Mazi Nnamdi Kanu’.
He said, “Nothing less is desirable because a jurisdiction/government that considers assassination of human rights activists can never be trusted to have the democratic and moral capacity to give such activists a fair trial.
“It’s crystal clear that eight years of former president Mohammadu Buhari was a calculated project against Ndigbo. Therefore, it is obvious to over 50 million new generation of Igbo extraction in the globe that the Operation Python Dance launched by Buhari and attack of September 2017 at Mazi Nnamdi Kanu’s country home at Afara Umuahia which took over 200 lives of Igbo youth was orchestrated assassination operation designed by Nigeria government.
“In the same vein, OYC calls on President Ahmed Bola Tinubu to dissociate himself and his presidency from this bloodthirst against Ndigbo and barbaric mindset of assassination of self-determination human rights activists by releasing Mazi Nnamdi Kanu from detention.”
Adesina had in his book enitled, ‘Reflections of a Special Adviser, Media and Publicity (2015-2023),’ said Buhari opted for the rendition of Kanu when his administration could have assassinated him.
Adesina said Buhari disclosed this during a meeting he had with a delegation of some Igbo elders, who had pleaded for the release of Kanu.
He quoted Buhari as saying that, “In the past six years, I have developed a system in which I don’t interfere with the judiciary. That was why in the case of Kanu, I said the best was to subject him to the system.
“Let him make his case in court instead of giving a terrible impression of the country from outside. I feel it is a favour to give him (Kanu) that opportunity. Government could have mobilised to eliminate him where he was, but we did not do that.”
Kanu is the leader of the Indigenous People of Biafra, which is seeking the severance of Southeast from Nigeria. He is charged with alleged treason, jumping bail and running a proscribe group.
