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The legal representatives of Nnamdi Kanu, the leader of the proscribed Indigenous People of Biafra (IPOB), have declared readiness to embrace a political solution in resolving the protracted case between the Federal Government and their detained client.
The Biafra agitator has been in the custody of the Department of State Services (DSS) since the Federal Government repatriated him from Kenya in 2021.
Kanu had fled Nigeria in 2017 after security operatives invaded his home in Abia state to arrest him for violating his bail conditions.
He's currently standing tried before Justice Binta Nyako of a Federal High Court in Abuja for offences bordering on terrorism and treasonable felony.
Meanwhile, his legal team has suggested an out-of-court settlement with the Federal Government for a quick resolution.
In a statement on Friday, the team of lawyers, led by Kanu’s special counsel, Aloy Ejimakor, appealed to President Bola Tinubu's administration to adopt a new approach to handling Kanu's matter.
Citing section 17 of the Federal High Court Act, the lawyers stressed that the law empowered the trial judge to recommend reconciliation, otherwise referred to as a political solution for the resolution of the matter.
“The provision of that section is not limited to civil matters alone. So, anyone that puts the issue on the table, we will consider it. A political solution makes better sense than prosecution.
“However, it is for the government to put it on the table, then we will consider it. Having said that, our duty first is to defend him and not to play politics. Right now, what is on our table is to fight for his defence.
“If they bring that option to the table and our client gives us the instruction, we will go for it,” Ejimakor told newsmen.
Referring to cases of the freed Yoruba nation agitator Sunday Adeyemo, popularly known as Sunday Igboho, and that of social rights activist Omoyele Sowore as precedents, Kanu's lawyer said he was hopeful the Tinubu government would handle the matter differently from what was done by his predecessor.
“We urge President Tinubu to carefully review this case, which he inherited from the past administration and see if it was not politically motivated.
“Our client did not deserve the travail and tribulations he has been forced to endure. Sometimes, we do wonder what made his case unique. People wonder if it is because of where he hails from that made his case different,” Kanu’s counsel added.