Thousands of youth who supported Mr. Kanu celebrated that decision in various parts of South Eastern Nigeria.
For sometime now, we had come to realize that the case of Nnamdi Kanu took a dramatic political turn. The government's case was weak from a strict legal point of view. However, the political interests at stake in the matter went to the heart and soul of Nigeria - whether the Igbos or Biafrans might really be planning to leave Nigeria. Indeed, the decision to arrest Kanu without a clearly thought out prosecution plan was a sign that the state was jittery and predisposed in the matter.
Given the political interests at stake, we had assumed that the order to release Kanu was something the government actually engineered in order to escape from the embarrassment it had brought upon itself. Personally, I thought the President was behind the dramatic and speedy dispensation of the proceedings of the court last Thursday.
Apparently, we were wrong. Almost immediately this order was given, Nigerian government began to undermine the order. First, youth who had gathered to jubilate over the court order and the expected release of Kanu were met with police brutality, resulting in the death of 5 people, all gunned down by the combined forces of army and police.
The government of Nigeria has not been honest in Nnamdi Kanu's case or in other high profile cases. The government has been undermining the judiciary and disobeying court orders. This is the greatest shortcoming of President Buhari's regime. It is a throw-back to the era of dictatorship and brutal suppression of judicial independence. It is a bad timing. The world has moved on. This President has to rise up to the reality.
Many have contacted this group to ask why on earth would Nnamdi Kanu remain in detention. The only answer is that this government does not wish to obey the court, and, by a logical extension, the constitution of Nigeria.
As of this moment, the case of Nnamdi Kanu has changed dramatically. Before the order of the court, the government could still make some vague argument that Kanu was a suspect facing some criminal charges. However bogus we knew such claim to be, at least the government could make it then. But once the order was given, there is no further pretension about the reasons for his detention. He could no longer be said to be a suspect or an accused person. He became a political prisoner, and the government became a rogue, in so far as its treatment of Kanu was concerned.
The greatest violence anybody could do to Nigeria is for the government to undermine the constitution of Nigeria. It is actually the constitution that holds this country together. It is the constitution that made Nigeria one country. It is the constitution that says that Nnamdi Kanu or any other group should remain part of Nigeria. The argument against the agitation for Biafra was that their demands would be against the constitution. But today, the Nigerian government, by disobeying the order of the courts, is doing such horrendous violence to the constitution far worse than anything that Kanu and his group could have attempted. Indeed, the conduct of the government actually now gives credence to Kanu's cause. The government of Nigeria is saying that, indeed, Nigeria is not a country worthy of his loyalty. The government is saying that Nigeria is not a land where there could be any expectation of justice. Indeed, for people like me, who had personally told Kanu to drop the idea of a sovereign Biafra, it has become harder to argue with him. Kanu only needs to point at the behavior of the Nigerian government to make a good case for his cause.
We speak with a very somber tone because we are aware of the massive problems all over the country. The massacre of civilians by the Nigerian troops is still on our minds. This is sadly a government on a fast track towards total dictatorship of the Idi Amin's characterization. We need to be alert and watchful for the dark days ahead."-----Barrister Emeka Ugwuonye, Founder Due Process Advocate ( DPA).
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