The Senator representing Abia South Senatorial District, Enyinnaya Abaribe, has said the conviction and life imprisonment of Nnamdi Kanu, leader of the Indigenous People of Biafra (IPOB), did not come as a surprise, describing the judgment as a long-predicted outcome.
Abaribe, a former Senate Minority Leader, in a statement issued through his Media Adviser, Uchenna Awom, said the sentence was “a preconceived plot that is not surprising to the Igbo nation and other right-thinking Nigerians.”
He noted that the Nigerian government’s refusal to consider pleas to extend amnesty to Kanu, as done for other groups, signalled what the final outcome would be.
The lawmaker noted that at the time the Nigerian government refused to factor in pleadings to extend the amnesty to Kanu, as done to some others, Thursday’s court verdict was imminent.
Abaribe criticised what he called a glaring double standard in the government’s approach to issues of national security and justice.
“Is it not an irony that negotiations and peace deals with rampaging terrorists in the North East, North West were gleefully initiated by the local government, states and Federal Government, just like the amnesty to ex-militants in the South South, who were rewarded with lucrative oil pipeline contracts. This is to say that justice in Nigeria is not for the South East,” Abaribe stated.
He added that while the development was expected, the hope for equitable justice in Nigeria remained alive.
“So we are not surprised. Our people can only endure and hope for a time when justice in Nigeria would become the sine qua non.
“We have done our best, we have variously made the case for the authorities to be circumspect and at least accede to pardon for the sake of unity and inclusiveness,” he said.
Abaribe said the Igbo nation now has no option but to place its fate “squarely on the desk of President Bola Tinubu,” urging citizens to remain peaceful.
“We ask the Igbo nation and other lovers of Nigeria to remain calm, pray and not take the law into their hands.
“May Nigeria succeed, thrive and advance in Justice, Equity and Fairness,” he added.
