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A controversial Niger Delta leader, Asari Dokubo, has asked President Bola Tinubu not to release the leader of the proscribed Indigenous People of Biafra (IPOB) group, Nnamdi Kanu.
Dokubo's comment came amid pleas from some South-East leaders that the Federal Government should grant Kanu an unconditional release to restore peace to the troubled region.
The embattled IPOB leader, who is standing trial for terrorism, has been in the custody of the Department of State Services (DSS) since his arrest and extradition to Nigeria from Kenya in 2021.
After flouting his bail conditions set by a Federal High Court in Abuja, Kanu fled the country in 2017 before he was re-arrested in the East African country.
In January of this year, Governor Chukwuma Soludo of Anambra State appealed to former President Muhammadu Buhari to release the IPOB leader to him.
Soludo offered to stand surety for the embattled separatist leader while insisting that his freedom is key to finding solutions to insecurity in the South-East region of the country,
Similarly, Governor Peter Mbah of Enugu State, during his visit to the Aso Rock Villa last week, begged Tinubu to heed the call for Kanu's release to show commitment to his promise of national unity.
Dokubo asks Tinubu not to release Kanu
But, speaking after meeting with Tinubu at the State House, Abuja, on Friday, June 16, 2023, Dokubo said Kanu should be made to face the law for his actions.
The Niger Delta leader called on the President to ignore calls for Kanu's unconditional release, arguing that releasing him would amount to rewarding criminality.
Dokubo said, “Releasing Nnamdi Kanu is rewarding criminality and rewarding gruesome murder of innocent people.
“He should face the law for the actions and instigations he has carried out.
“On security, I want to clearly say that there are full-scale wars going on in different parts of this country. In the South East, the IPOB/ESN is waging a full-scale war against the government of this country and many local governments, many communities are deserted, schools are closed, and hospitals are closed.”