The Coalition of Northern Groups (CNG) has warned that any attempt by President Buhari to release Kanu outside the court processes would reduce Nigeria to a lawless state where criminals commit crimes and ask their leaders to press for their release.
In a press conference in Kano, the Coalition, which consists of rights and Civil organisations in Northern Nigeriia, expressed strong opposition to the release of Kanu saying President Buhari shouldn’t interfere with the principles of seperation of powers and the independence of the judiciary and that Buhari would be held responsible for the ”lives of Northerners killed by the activities of Kanu.”
“We especially note, with deep sense of concern, the unrelenting desperation by certain interest groups in the South East to subvert the due process of justice and tamper with the judicial processes since Kanu’s arraignment,” the group said.
The Coalition, through its spokesperson, Abdul-Azeez Suleiman warned that the “North would not remain idle when its people are deliberately targeted and killed while the alleged perpetrators are shielded by their leaders.”
It added that the North “would hold President Buhari responsible for the blood of Northerners unlawfully shed through the activities of Kanu in the event he succumbed to pressure to release the IPOB leader.”
“The North has today realised that he (Buhari) places more premium on the pursuit of votes and political popularity than he does for the sanctity of lives of Northerners and security personnel who stake their lives in the service of the nation.”
The Coalition said the Igbo group that visited Buhari to ask for Kanu’s release has vindicated its position that the criminal activities of Kanu was fully supported by the vast majority of Igbo elders, politicians, religious leaders, traditional rulers, and people of the South East.
The Coalition then asked for the arrest and prosecution of all those Igbo leaders involved in attempts to free Kanu by subverting the course of justice.
Northern Elder, Tanko Yakasai (pictured top left), also warned President Buhari against interfering in the trial of the leader of IPOB, saying that releasing the IPOB leader would give the impression that ”rebellion pays.”
Yakasai, in an interview with Daily Sun, said
“The country is enjoying a harmonious relationship among its various ethnic groups which would be affected if Kanu is released.
“I am also concerned that the delegation has the capacity of giving the impression that the activities of Nnamdi Kanu and his group enjoy a widespread popularity among Igbo people, an impression which is not true” he said.
He said Nigerians were living in peace and harmony and that the secessionist demand in some regions was a reflection of the position of a few and not the majority of the people .
