Prince Emmanuel Kanu is the younger brother of the leader of the Indigenous People of Biafra (IPOB), Mazi Nnamdi Kanu. In this exclusive telephone interview with our Abia State Correspondent, SUNNY NWANKWO, he spoke about the recent repatriation of his elder brother from Kenya by the Nigerian government among other issues concerning IPOB and the agitation for Biafra. Excerpts:
What was the immediate reaction of your family upon learning that IPOB’s leader, Nnamdi Kanu, had been repatriated from Kenya to Nigeria?
It was not funny. Because when the news was broken to us, we had to ask a couple of questions which, up till now, nobody has provided answers to. Even the federal government has not.
The question is what has he done to be abducted from Kenya? Did he commit any crime in Kenya? Was there any crime against him in the UK? If there were, there are processes to be met before taking somebody away from a particular country, which were obviously not followed.
It is a pure case of kidnapping and a repeat of what happened in 1984 when the same president attempted abducting Umaru Dikko. The question that we are asking is what has he (Nnamdi) done? Who arrested him, because the Keyan government has apparently denied arresting him?
The question now is who and who in Nigeria organised the extraordinary rendition against Mazi Nnamdi Kanu? These are the things that we need to know. Was he taken to court? Which court was he taken to?
I understand that it takes a while for you to bring someone down to Nigeria. There are due processes to be met. How come he was abducted and taken to a private place where he was tortured for about eight days before bringing him back to Nigeria? Up until this moment, the federal government has not given clarifications on his arrest. That is what we are waiting for, and for this reason, the family will not attend any court, because we need to know the circumstances surrounding his extraordinary rendition. We need to know who authorised it. It is a slap on the international community.
Has the family made any attempt to see him since he was brought back to Nigeria?
We have been denied access to him. We have made several efforts through our lawyer to see him, all to no avail. My brother should be given access to his own private doctor. It is our stand and position.
What are your fears now that the DSS has refused to grant your family access to your brother?
Maybe they intend to kill him, because I don’t know why they would not allow us access to see him. As we speak, some legal steps are being taken inasmuch as we don’t believe in the judicial process here, but we will do what we can.
Do you have the confidence that your brother will get fair hearing in court?
In the history of this country, there has never been a time anybody was ever given a fair hearing except you are coming from the Fulani extraction. It is only the Fulani that get fair hearing. It is as simple as that. Until there are calcifications concerning his extraordinary rendition, we (immediate family members) are not prepared to come to court. We should be talking about releasing him and not coming to court. You don’t expect to see us in court when it was clear that our son, father and brother was abducted.
Do you or any member of your family fear for your own safety?
We are not afraid because Mazi Nnamdi Kanu is fighting for a just cause. If you need to know, I have not been happy because what they have done to my brother is unjust. It is evil and unheard of anywhere in the world. How can you go to another man’s country to abduct a man who has committed no crime? He is simply a freedom fighter and you and I know that.
Don’t you think the call by IPOB Australia for the ban on Kenyan products and airline was extreme?
We support any protest anywhere in the world in solidarity with our brother, Nnamdi Kanu. We are fully in support of it. We are equally in support of the call by the IPOB Australia banning IPOB members from patronising any made-in-Keya product, including boarding their airline. I have been wondering why Kenya would play a role in this dirty business.
Many said the arrest of your brother has weakened you and IPOB members…
Let me sound it clear that we are stronger than ever before. That is what people should understand. We have more supporters now than we ever had before. Whatever Mazi Nnamdi Kanu is going through, believe me, it is the same thing every Christian is going through in this country. Biafra must come. There is something that he (Nnamdi Kanu) will always say; that they will try to kill us, but in the end, Biafra will come. And we believe in that.
If called upon, will you accept standing in the gap until your brother returns considering the seeming vacuum his absence may have created in IPOB?
Let me set the record straight: Mazi Nnamdi Kanu remains the leader of the Indigenous People of Biafra and there is no vacuum. After him comes Mazi Chika Edoziem, the Head of Directorate for States. It is as simple as that. IPOB is a very big structure. There are chains and commands, so I shouldn’t come into picture (Adopted from The Nation)
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