Embattled Director of Radio Biafra, Nnamdi Kanu, has apologised to President Muhammadu Buhari for referring to him as “a terrorist, evil and a paedophile” in some of his radio messages.
The Federal Government had charged Kanu, alongside two others, before a Federal High Court in Abuja on six counts of treason and other ancillary offences.
The leader of the Indigenous People of Biafra, IPOB, in a statement he made to the Department of State Service, DSS, on October 23 said he intended to write a private letter to Buhari to express his apology for his comments.
The 48-year-old pro-Biafran agitation leader in the statement also apologised to former President Goodluck Jonathan and Igbo elders for “some uncomplimentary things” he said about them in his broadcast messages.
Kanu who has been in custody of the DSS since his arrest in Lagos on October 14, 2015 was however unapologetic about his demand for a Republic of Biafra.
The prosecution, in its summary of the case, alleged that in one of the radio broadcasts by Kanu on August 1, 2015, he expressed his resolve to actualise the Republic of Biafra and “cast aspersions on the person and the office of the President of the Federal Republic of Nigeria”.
The statement read, “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 PMB (President Muhammadu Buhari) there was the administration of Goodluck Jonathan. 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.”
Kanu, a British-Nigerian citizen while justifying his agitation for a Biafra Republic said the 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 revealed that the group’s agitation was founded in London in 2012 by a group of people from the South-South and South-East regions of the country, adding that it was in line with the United Nations Charter on the Rights of Indigenous Peoples ratified by African countries, including Nigeria.
The embattled IPOB leader who is a son of a traditional ruler in Abia State, Sir I.O. Kanu, said contrary to the prosecution describing IPOB as unlawful, the group was registered with the UN to pursue the rights of the people of Biafra.
He stated, “I can confirm that I, Nnamdi Kanu, is the leader of Indigenous People of Biafra worldwide as a legitimately and duly registered body at the United Nations pursuing the rights of a specific indigenous people, in this case, Biafra, to seek self determination according to the said charter.
“The reason for the formation of the Indigenous People of Biafra is to avail those referring to themselves as Biafrans the opportunity made available as a result of the United Nations declaration to seek the peaceful rebirth of Biafra in line with international law.”
Kanu further stated that he operated Radio Biafra, whose programmes “are designed to wake up the public from its slumber and address the issues of the time” in line with his belief in free speech and freedom of expression.
He also alleged that Biafra Republic comprised of Enugu, Ebonyi, Abia, Imo, Anambra, Cross River, Akwa Ibom, Rivers, Bayelsa and Delta states as well the Igbanke part of Edo State; Igala part of Kogi State and Idoma/Igede part of Edo State.
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