By Chuks Eke
The Nigerian Consultative Forum, NCF has appealed to President Bola Ahmed Tinubu to demonstrate statesmanship and fatherly leadership by granting unconditional amnesty to Deputy Commissioner of Police, DCP Abba Kyari, and the detained leader of the Indigenous People of Biafra IPOB, Mazi Nnamdi Kanu.
In a press communique issued shortly after it’s 10th Annual General Conference, AGC held in Abuja, Federal Capital Territory, FCT, Chairman of NCF, Dede Uzor A. Uzor and its Secretary-General, Dr. Frank Udemadu, said the call was necessitated by the prevailing security situation across the country and the enormous influence both men weird in their respective regions.
They argued that the release of the duo of Kyari and Kanu would no doubt ease tensions, reduce insecurity, and open a fresh pathway for peace.
“It would be recalled that before the detention of DCP Abba Kyari who voluntarily submitted himself for over four years now, he had been in the forefront of hunting down hardened criminals and terrorists, some of whom were bandits, unknown gunmen, kidnappers and other advanced criminal activities in different parts of the country,” Uzor stated.
The group described Kyari as one of Nigeria’s most resourceful and gifted security operatives, recalling his past efforts in combating violent crimes, including notorious kidnapping cases, terrorist cases, and armed robbery operations.
According to them, his continued incarceration has denied the country of his expertise at a time when insecurity is on the rise.
“DCP Kyari’s release, the NCF said, would help him to bring his enormous and professional expertise as security czar to engage these bandits and terrorists holding the entire country hostage particularly the northern Nigeria, a feat he proved beyond all reasonable doubt when he was in office.
“For four years, the nation couldn’t produce a replacement that could do 30 percent of what he was doing,” the group further stated.
On Nnamdi Kanu, the forum said his prolonged detention has deepened resentment and tension in the South East, fueling the unrest being witnessed in the region.
“Mazi Nnamdi Kanu has a lot of admirers and supporters who are still aggrieved by his continued detention, said Udemadu.
“The current wave of insecurity in some parts of the South East could be attributed to the continuous detention of the Biafran leader.”
The NCF stressed that Kanu’s release would immediately calm frayed nerves, restore confidence, and reduce violence.
“Kanu, on his part,” the group added, when released, is capable of calling those his supporters to order, and in the next 24 hours of his release, the entire South East would become quiet”.
Both men, the group emphasized, have been detained for nearly five years and should, by now, have been granted either amnesty or freedom, given that they have overstayed any supposed jail terms.
“NCF is of the opinion that the Federal Government led by President Bola Tinubu should use his good office to direct for the immediate release of these persons as the father of the nation, since Kyari and Kanu have overstayed their supposedly jail terms if they were actually convicted,” Uzor said.
The forum underscored that their release would not only serve as a reconciliatory gesture but would also cement Tinubu’s legacy as a peace-driven leader.
“They said President Tinubu would write his name in gold if these two citizens were allowed to go home by granting them amnesty,” the statement read.
In its appeal, the group also cautioned against what it termed the manipulations of self-serving politicians who may attempt to frustrate the process.
The group further asked the president not to allow detractors and politicians who see their release as tools of propaganda and an avenue to swindle the nation for their personal financial gains.
Reiterating their plea, NCF disclosed that it has already sent a direct message to the President, telling him: “look, history will write your name in gold if the duo are released unconditionally and unequivocally”.
