RADIO Biafra director Nnamdi Kanu has expressed regret for referring to President Muhammadu Buhari as a terrorist and a paedophile in his radio broadcasts pointing out that he intends writing a letter of apology for his remarks.
Kanu, who has been charged along with two others by the federal government before a Federal High Court in Abuja on six counts of treason and other ancillary offences, said he intends to write a private letter to President Buhari over the offensive comments. Speaking on court, Mr Kanu, the leader of the Indigenous People of Biafra (Ipob), also apologised to former President Goodluck Jonathan and Igbo elders for some uncomplimentary things he said about them.
However, he said he remains unapologetic about his demand for a Republic of Biafra, which he continues to fight for. Mr Kanu, 48, has been in the custody of the Department of State Services since his arrest in Lagos on October 14, 2015.
Mr Kanu said: “My reference to the president of the Federal Republic of Nigeria as a terrorist, evil and a paedophile is regrettable and uncalled for and for that, I unreservedly apologise and will be doing so in a private letter to the president. Before President Muhammadu Buhari, there was the administration of Goodluck Jonathan and I also said uncomplimentary things about him and Igbo elders as well, which I now recognise should not have happened because it is un-African to be rude or insolent to elders.
“All I was trying to do is to draw attention to the problems afflicting society and something done about them. Ipob's secessionist agenda was informed by the incessant hardship, lack of holistic development in the socio-economic landscape of Nigeria, lack of youth employment, corruption in high offices and economic regression."
He added that the agitation began in London in 2012 by a group of people from the south-south and southeast regions of the country, in line with the United Nations Charter on the Rights of Indigenous Peoples ratified by African countries, including Nigeria. In contrast to the counts of managing and assisting in the management of an unlawful society preferred against Kanu and two others, Mr Kanu stated that Ipob was registered with the UN to pursue the rights of the people of Biafra.
According to Mr Kanu, the intended Biafra Republic would comprise of Enugu, Ebonyi, Abia, Imo, Anambra, Cross River, Akwa Ibom, Rivers, Bayelsa and Delta states as well the Igbanke part of Edo State, the Igala part of Kogi State and the Idoma/Igede part of Edo State. Among the charges against him are his attempts to take over non-Igbo parts of Nigeria.
Comments
Post a Comment