The Deputy Speaker of the House of Representatives, Benjamin Kalu, has appealed to President Bola Tinubu to consider a political solution in the case of the leader of the proscribed Indigenous People of Biafra, IPOB, Nnamdi Kanu.
Kalu made the appeal during the inaugural meeting of the committee on the South East Development Commission, SEDC, at the National Assembly.
According to him, releasing Kanu would reduce insecurity in the South-East, noting that criminals currently use his continued detention as an excuse to perpetrate violence in the region.
“You can’t have development in the midst of insecurity. That is why we started what we call peace in South-East project supported by the parliament.
“But in doing so we noticed that the insecurity there will be reduced if Nnamdi Kanu is released. We want Nnamdi Kanu to be released because we know it will give our people more security.
“Those who are using him as excuse to perpetrate all these criminal actions around our area will have no other reason to be on the street,” Kalu said.
DAILY POST reports that Kanu, who is facing terrorism charges, has been in the custody of the Department of State Services, DSS, since he was extradited from Kenya in June 2021.
The South-East, since his arrest, has witnessed a spike in the activities of gunmen, including the violent enforcement of sit-at-home on Mondays to demand the release of the IPOB leader.
There have been increasing calls for Kanu’s release, particularly from stakeholders in the South-East.