The Coalition of Northern Groups (CNG) has reacted angrily to an alleged Ohanaeze Ndigbo call for President-elect Bola Ahmed Tinubu to pardon Nnamdi Kanu, the leader of the banned Indigenous People of Biafra (IPOB).
According to a statement issued by the coalition’s spokesperson, Abdul-Azeez Suleman, and made available to journalists in Abuja, the coalition condemned the renewed calls by Ohanaeze and other Ndigbo leaders and groups for the premature termination of Nnamdi Kanu’s trial as unreasonable, unwarranted, thoughtless, and unrealistic.
It urged the federal government to disregard such unpatriotic calls and to pursue Kanu’s prosecution to its logical conclusion so as not to set a bad precedent of regional leaders interfering with the course of justice by assisting criminals to evade the law.
It also stated that its intervention is intended to warn the incoming administration of Bola Tinubu of the dangers of falling for Ndigbo antics aimed at causing mishaps and unnecessary devastation and driving Nigeria to the brink of disaster.
Some of their resolutions include; “To specifically invite the attention of the incoming President Bola Ahmed Tinubu to remain vigilant as to the direction the country is headed so as to avoid the type of mistake committed by the late President Shehu Shagari in granting unconditional state pardon to the initiator of the Biafra project, Odumegwu Ojukwu which has proved counterproductive.
“He should bear in mind that the bulk majority of Kanu’s casualties are from the North, the region from where he extracted the bulk of his winning votes.
“We remind him of the moral consequences of falling to the trap of the Ndigbo of the South-East from where he secured very insignificant support at the expense of his true friends and allies in the North who bear the brunt of the atrocities perpetrated by Kanu.
“Instead, the president should remain resolute in ensuring the diligent prosecution of Kanu, his sponsors, backers and collaborators in the heinous crimes against the Nigerian state and innocent Nigerian citizens.
“In order to prevent a descent into anarchy at this day and age, and to forestall mass killings, untold sufferings and atrocities, the federal government must not accede to the current pressure by Ohanaeze and its ilk to secure the unconditional release of the leader of a group that has been duly proscribed as terrorist.