By Jelili Gbadamosi
Concerned Igbo Ministers have called on the Nigerian and British governments to release Nnamdi Kanu and consider his demand for a referendum on Biafra.
The group made the call in a statement signed by Rev. Tony Uzor Anthony on Sunday, following reports that Scotland, Wales and Northern Ireland were preparing to push for the right to hold independence referendums.
The ministers said developments in the United Kingdom had drawn their attention to what they described as the growing global demand for self-determination.
Kanu, the leader of the Indigenous People of Biafra (IPOB), has been advocating for a referendum on the independence of Biafra and is currently serving a life sentence in Sokoto Prison after his conviction on terrorism-related charges.
The religious leaders alleged that Britain and Nigeria had worked together in keeping Kanu detained and argued that the reported independence moves in the UK should serve as a warning to both governments.
They urged the two countries to release Kanu, listen to his demand for a referendum and end what they described as a policy of cooperation that had kept him incarcerated.
The group also issued a warning that continued detention of the IPOB leader could have serious consequences for both countries.
“If they refuse, let them remember that the wrath that now touches Britain will not spare Nigeria,” the ministers said, while declaring their intention to continue their prayers and public advocacy until Kanu is released.
The ministers’ statement comes amid renewed attention to separatist and self-determination movements in both Nigeria and the United Kingdom.
