The counsel to the detained leader of the Indigenous People of Biafra, IPOB, Chief Mike Ozekhome, SAN, has faulted the claims of the Federal Government that Nnamdi Kanu is ‘a flight risk person’.
Ozekhome made this known on Monday, while fielding questions from journalists, minutes after Appeal Court reserved judgment in FG’s stay of execution application.
FG had through its lawyer, Mr. David Kaswe, an Assistant State Counsel in the office of the Attorney-General of the Federation, submitted that the respondent (Nnamdi Kanu) is a flight risk person. It is important to appreciate the gamut of depositions in our application.
“One of the ground of our application is that this matter touches on national security of the state.
“We rely on the case of FRN Vs Dokubo, where the Supreme Court held that where national security is threatened or likelihood of it being threatened, human rights take secondary place.
“Once there is a threat to national security, human rights of any individual can be suspended until such threat is taken care of.
“Once security of the nation is in jeopardy, the individual right may not even exist”.
However, in his riposte Ozekhome averred that Kanu’s release would bring peace and tranquility in the country.
Giving more reasons Kanu should be released, the outspoken lawyer, revealed the health condition of his client, noting that Kanu is gravely ill and needs urgent medical attention.
His words: “Nnamdi Kanu is discharged. Discharged means you have no case against you. What a very responsible government should do is to let the young man go home.
“Particularly as we have shown in our affidavit evident and document, that he is gravely ill. He has a heart condition, which a specialist doctor has said needs an urgent surgery. They have not answered to his medical conditions. What they are doing when they see that his potassium level is too high is to increase the dosage or decrease it.
“So they are using Nnamdi Kanu as a guinea pig, trial by error. So we responded that releasing Nnamdi Kanu would not bring unrest in the South East.
“As a matter of fact, the release of Kanu will bring peace and tranquility not only in the South East, but the entire country.
“I gave the court an example. When the court pronounced its judgement on the 13th of February, the entire south east went wild with jubilation. They were eating, drinking, dining and dancing on the street for about five days.
“There was jubilation from Owerre to Aba, Enugu, Ebonyi, Onitsha, etc. The Igbo’s are happy and they are looking forward to this judgment that once, Nnamdi Kanu is released, there will be peace in the south east, 2023 elections will come very well. I do not know who is advising this government. If I were their adviser, I would say, Mr President let my people go.
“Don’t forget, any day they hold him further from 13th October is illegal detention. We are already going to court with a fundamental rights enforcement matter. So it is the release of Nnamdi Kanu that will bring about peace and tranquility not detaining him.”
