A former Lagos State lawmaker, Jude Idimogu, has appealed to President Bola Tinubu to grant clemency to the detained leader of the Indigenous People of Biafra (IPOB), Nnamdi Kanu, insisting the move could strengthen the All Progressives Congress (APC) ahead of the 2027 general elections.
Mr Idimogu, who represented Oshodi-Isolo Constituency II in the Lagos State House of Assembly from 2015 to 2023, told the News Agency of Nigeria on Sunday that Kanu’s release would also help reduce insecurity in the South-East.
“It will add to our votes in the South-East. If the President can look at this issue, the South-East will never forget him but forever be grateful,” he said.
Kanu, leader of the self-determination movement, was arrested in Nairobi, Kenya, in 2021 and extradited to Nigeria, where he has remained in custody facing trial.
The former lawmaker, who is the deputy leader of Ndigbo in Lagos APC, called on prominent Igbo figures, South-East governors, and other Nigerians to unite in appealing for Kanu’s pardon.
“I want to plead with our President, Asiwaju Bola Tinubu, to kindly see the need to use political means to grant Nnamdi Kanu clemency. I want to appeal to all well-meaning Nigerians, not just those from Igbo extraction, to help plead with Mr President to use his good office to release Nnamdi Kanu,” Mr Idimogu said.
According to him, such an action could ease tensions and revive economic activity in the South-East.
“If this is done, I believe the insecurity situation and tension in the South-East will reduce if not completely curbed and eradicated,” he added.
Mr Idimogu argued that many miscreants were exploiting Kanu’s name to perpetrate violence in the region. He maintained that the release would “bring back businesses and trading long stagnated in the region because of insecurity”.
“An average Igbo man is a trader. We cannot overlook this situation and the contributions of these traders in the South-East to the economy. South-East used to be home to a lot of people before now, it just suddenly changed to be dens of insecurity and other vices. This can be arrested with Kanu’s release.
“Mr President, we know you to be a father with a compassionate heart, please, help us in the South-East, grant Kanu freedom to stabilise our region,” he appealed.
