By our Correspondent
The lawmaker representing State of Texas at the United States House of Representatives, Mr. Jarvis Johnson, has appealed to Members of the U.S. Congress to prevail on the Nigerian government to release the leader of the Indigenous People of Biafra (IPOB), Mazi Nnamdi Kanu.
This was contained in a letter dated May 10 , 2023, personally signed by Jarvis and made available to News Band by Nnamdi Kanu’s lawyer, Barrister Aloy Ejimakor.
In the letter, Jarvis urged the lawmaker to prevail on the President Muhammadu Buhari-led government to release Nnamdi Kanu from his extraordinary rendition.
He went down memory lane to pen down a history of the Igbos including the struggle for self determination and freedom which eventually culminated into a civil war in 1967, leading to the genocide of 3 million Igbos.
He recollected how, in 2012, the Indigenous People of Biafra was formed in the United Kingdom, which owns and operates an internet radio, known as Radio Biafra.
Leader of the Indigenous People of Biafra (IPOB), Mazi Nnamdi Kanu
Detained leader of the Indigenous People of Biafra (IPOB), Mazi Nnamdi Kanu in Abuja court on October 21, 2021
He also recollected how Kanu, who traveled to Nairobi, Kenya, as a British citizen, was legally admitted into Kenya.
He was, however, abducted in Nairobi by agents of the Nigerian government, disappeared in Nairobi, and was tortured for eight days.
Finally, On June 27, 2021, he was extradited Nigerian government, in collaboration with Kenyan government.
According to him, Kanu’s health condition has deteriorated badly as he suffers from serious heart condition and other ailments without getting needed medical attention.
He, therefore, urged Members of the Congress to use its “good offices to urgently intervene with the [Nigerian government] to immediately and unconditionally release Mazi Nmandi Kanu from his solitary confinement and end his extraordinary rendition to Nigeria.”
He stressed that the right of self-determination is a natural right, and is enshrined in foundational documents, including “The Declaration of Independence” and “Constitution”.
Relying on the country’s policy and practice to support fundamental human rights, as the country is right now doing in Ukraine, he added: “What is good for the Ukrainians is also good for MNK and the Igbos.”
