The Ohanaeze Youth Council (OYC) has endorsed the planned October 20 protest initiated by activist and former presidential candidate, Omoyele Sowore, demanding the unconditional release of the detained leader of the Indigenous People of Biafra (IPOB), Mazi Nnamdi Kanu.
The National President of OYC, Comrade Igboayaka O. Igboayaka, in a statement on Monday, said the protest was not about Sowore but a Pan-Nigerian movement for justice, equity, and national unity.
He urged President Bola Tinubu to heed the growing calls for Kanu’s release, warning that continued detention could fuel unrest and deepen divisions in the country.
“The October 20 protest at Aso Rock Villa is not Sowore’s personal movement but a national call to end injustice,” Igboayaka said. “Nnamdi Kanu’s prolonged incarceration since 2015 has inflicted pain on the South-East and raised questions about fairness in Nigeria’s justice system.”
According to him, the government’s decision to pardon and reintegrate repentant Boko Haram members and bandits, while keeping Kanu in detention, exposes a troubling double standard.
“Injustice anywhere is a threat to justice everywhere,” the youth leader noted.
He said ‘“If Boko Haram fighters can be forgiven, then Nnamdi Kanu, whose only demand is for a referendum, should be released unconditionally.”
He further argued that the federal government lacks the legal authority to continue Kanu’s trial, citing his alleged abduction from Kenya as a breach of international law.
“The Nigerian government cannot lawfully conclude Kanu’s trial without violating global legal standards.
“His detention remains one of the most glaring political conspiracy.’he claimed.
