Biafra: IPOB Leader Kanu Apologizes To Buhari, Jonathan, Igbo elders

The leader of the Indigenous People of Biafra and founder of Radio Biafra, Nnamdi Kanu, has expressed regret for referring to President Muhammadu Buhari as a terrorist, evil and a paedophile in his radio broadcasts.

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 intended to write a private letter to Buhari to express his apology to the President.

He also apologised to former President Goodluck Jonathan and Igbo elders for “some uncomplimentary things” he said about them.

The 48-year-old pro-Biafran agitation leader, who is, however, unapologetic about his demand for a Republic of Biafra, has been in the custody of the Department of State Services since his arrest in Lagos on October 14, 2015.

He tendered the apology for his comment against Buhari and others in a statement which he made to the DSS on October 23.

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 in part, “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, who described himself as a Nigerian and a British citizen, justified his agitation for a Biafra Republic.

He said 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 by IPOB, which, according to him, was founded in London in 2012 by a group of people from the South-South and South-East regions of the country, was 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, the Radio Biafra founder stated that IPOB, which the prosecution described as unlawful, 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, who is a son of a traditional ruler in Abia State, Sir I.O. Kanu, said he operated Radio Biafra, whose programmes “are designed to wake up the public from its slumber and address the issues of the time” because of his belief in free speech and freedom of expression.

He explained that the intended Biafra Republic comprised 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.

Apart from Kanu, one of the two other defendants in the six counts filed by the Federal Government is a Field Maintenance Engineer, David Nwawuisi, charged with the responsibility of maintaining MTN masts in Enugu State.

The other defendant, Benjamin Madubugwu, was said to be living in the Ubilisiuzo, Ihiala Local Government Area of Anambra State, where he allegedly received custody of a container, housing transmitters, from Kanu.

On December 23 during the accused persons’ appearance in court for their scheduled arraignment, Kanu refused to take his plea due to what he called his lack of confidence in the presiding judge, Justice Ahmed Mohammed.

The judge promptly returned the case file to the Chief Judge of the Federal High Court, Justice Ibrahim Auta, for reassignment to another judge and the three accused persons were returned to the custody of the Department of State Services.

The fresh charges were filed against the three men barely 24 hours after Justice Adeniyi Ademola, in a ruling on Kanu’s bail application on December 17, ordered his unconditional release from DSS custody having been detained for about two months without any valid charges filed against him.

The PUNCH had reported that the Federal Government had alleged that transmitters for Radio Biafra, spreading secessionist agenda for carving out Biafra region from Nigeria, were found to be installed on MTN masts in Enugu and Anambra states between April and May 2015.

No new date has been fixed for the arraignment of the accused persons.

Osun State Assembly Minority Leader, Oladejo Makinde Dies On 48th Birthday

The Minority Leader of the Osun State House of Assembly, Oladejo Makinde is dead.

Makinde died on Sunday, December 27 which was his 48th birthday.

The lawmaker, popularly known as Igwe, and represented Ife Central Constituency, died at a hospital in Ekiti State following a brief illness.

Makinde was one of the two members of the Peoples Democratic Party (PDP) in the House.


He was a former Chairman of Ife Central Local Government Area of the state.

His corpse has been deposited at the mortuary of Ekiti State Teaching Hospital.

He is survived by his aged mother, wife and children.

I Didn’t Come To Dubai To Plot Against Buhari – Atiku

A former Vice President and chieftain of All Progressives Congress, APC, Atiku Abubakar has reacted to rumours by what he called “political mischief makers and enemies of unity”, alleging that he has been hosting political meetings at Burj Al-Arab, Dubai.

The former Vice President says contrary to the rumours being bandied around by political opponents, he is currently in Dubai with his family for physiotherapy on his injured knee.

A press statement released by his media office in Abuja on Sunday and signed by his Media Adviser, Paul Ibe, says the former Vice President is embarrassed by the deliberate falsehoods being spread against him by political opponents who are bent on causing distraction for President Buhari at a time all energies should be channelled into helping the President actualise his change agenda.

Describing rumour mongers as “ill-motivated busybodies that don’t wish the country well”, the Turaki Adamawa explained that his medical treatment is his private affairs, which should not be politicised by anybody to achieve sinister objectives.

Atiku Abubakar says he is entitled to enjoy his private life, including the right to attend to his health, without being harassed and lied against by political opponents.

Contrary to the insinuations by political opponents, the former Vice President says the success of the Buhari administration has been his preoccupation, and that any true APC member should have the same zeal.

According to him, rumour mongers that seek to cause distrust and distraction in Buhari’s government do not mean well for the APC administration. He however advises political mischief makers to allow him enjoy his peace and desist from sinister propaganda designed to draw a wedge between him and President Muhammadu Buhari, in order to cause needless distrust and distractions in the President’s government.

7 Boko Haram Bomb Experts Arrested In Kaduna

Nigerian Army troops in Kaduna State have foiled another insurgent attack, with the arrest of seven suspected Boko Haram members who specialise in bombs and Improvised Explosive Devices (IEDs).

A statement by the Army spokesperson, Colonel Sani Kukasheka, said from all indications, the suspects were in Kaduna to coordinate suicide bombings during the festive period.

Col. Kukasheka added that recently in Maiduguri, some of the terror specialists were arrested while trying to detonate IEDs carried in food containers in public places.

He said: “the arrest of these suspects would no doubt assist in the fight against terrorism in the country, more so as the military have technically defeated the Boko Haram terrorists in the field.


“The terrorists have resorted to attacking soft targets through suicide bombings, IEDs and harassing attacks on isolated communities”.

The Army spokesman advised members of the public to be more vigilant and security conscious by reporting suspicious persons and movements to the security agencies.

30 Feared Killed In Adamawa Suicide Attack

Scores of people were ​feared ​killed ​Monday when two female suicide bombers attacked a busy motor park in Madagali town of Adamawa State.

A witness, Danladi Buba, said the two female suicide bombers detonated bombs at a mini market near a motor park around 9am, killing many people.

“About 30 people were killed with 16 others injured,” Mr. Buba said.

When contacted, the Brigade Commander of 28 Task Force Brigade, Mubi, Victor Ezugwu, confirmed the incident, saying the casualty figure was yet to be established.

“Two female suicide bombers struck at a garage in Madagali and detonated their devices, and we lost some beloved country men,” Mr. Ezugwu, a brigadier-general, said.

He said the injured had been taken to hospital while the military had cordoned off the area.

The brigade commander said the situation had been brought under control.

The attack followed a series of gun and bomb attacks, between Sunday and Monday, by suspected Boko Haram militants on Maiduguri, the capital of neighbouring Borno State.

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Jonathan Is Responsible For Ongoing Fuel Scarcity – Lai Mohammed

Minister of Information, Lai Mohammed, has declared that Nigerians are now paying for the sins of the past government.

He said the Jonathan government owed oil marketers ‎huge debts in oil subsidy payments, such that they have stopped importing the product in the last couple of months, hence the biting scarcity.

Asked by State House correspondents to explain the scarcity to the nation, Lai said: “What I will be telling Nigerians is that what we met on ground is such that we are paying for the sins of the last administration”.

“I am being very serious. You remember that about two weeks ago, we had to go to the National Assembly for a supplementary budget of N674 billion. Of that figure, N522billion was for arrears of fuel subsidy which was incurred as far back as August last year”.

“One of the reasons for the fuel scarcity was the inability of the last government to make adequate provision for fuel subsidy”.

“We do face some other logistic problems but majorly, we are paying for the sins of the last administration”.


Asked what the solution the government was now proffering, the Minister said:“The first thing we have done now is to make sure that unlike before when the marketers used to import the major percentage of the fuel, NNPC has been involved in importation”.

“This is because some of the marketers had stopped importing for a couple of months. If you see any fuel anywhere today, it is imported by the NNPC”.

“We also inherited the vandalisation of the pipelines which has made it impossible for us to even transport the fuel. In tanks today we have 14 days reserve and off tank we have 10 days reserve”.

“The issue is not non-availability of the product; it is the distribution because of pipelines that have been vandalised and the gridlock in Lagos”.

“It takes about five days for anybody to take fuel with tanker in Lagos. As at two days ago this matter has been resolved. The Mosinmi pipeline has been secured and it has led to the improvement in the distribution.