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The Senate has rejected a motion seeking to compel the federal government to release Nnamdi Kanu, the leader of the proscribed Indigenous People of Biafra (IPOB).
The Senate resolution during plenary on Wednesday, July 26, 2023, followed a motion moved by Senator Osita Izunaso, All Progressives Congress (Imo West), and co-sponsored by all other senators from the South-East region.
Titled 'Condemning the disruptive nature of sit-at-home Demonstrations in south-east Nigeria,' the motion sought an end to the sit-at-home menace ordered and enforced by gunmen in the region.
Izunaso reminded his colleagues that thousands of innocent lives had been lost since the introduction of the sit-at-home measure while properties worth over a trillion naira had been destroyed, prompting a mass exodus of investors from the Southeast
According to him, “The sit-at-home civil disobedience actions in the South-East have led to the disruption/destruction of economic activities and immeasurable financial losses for businesses, workers, and the local economy. Because, when people are forced to stay at home and businesses remain closed, productivity declines and income is reduced, affecting livelihoods and economic growth.
“The “sit-at-home” protests disrupt the education of students, leading to missed classes and delays in academic progress. And such prolonged disruptions have long-term effects on students’ learning outcomes and educational development; Disturbed that disruption of essential public services, such as healthcare, transportation, and waste disposal, continues to have a severe impact during “sit-at-home” protests which adversely affect the well-being and safety of the general population living in the South-East.”
It'd be recalled that in 2021, IPOB introduced sit-at-home in the Sout-East every Monday as a form of civil disobedience to protest the continued detention of Kanu.
Though the central command of the separatist group has announced the suspension of the order, Finland-based and Kanu's self-acclaimed disciple, Simon Ekpa, has continued to bark out orders for enforcement of the action in the region.
Meanwhile, the Senate, in its resolution, condemned the instigation of killings and other disturbances in the South-East by Ekpa and ordered the next foreign minister and relevant stakeholders, to carry out a thorough investigation as well as bring other sponsors of the act to book.
However, the Red Chamber turned down the request urging the federal government to explore a political solution to resolve Kanu's matter following his continued detention by the Department of State Services (DSS).