Ambassador Bianca Ojukwu, widow of the late Igbo leader, Dim Chukwuemeka Odumegwu-Ojukwu, has intensified calls for the release of Mazi Nnamdi Kanu, the embattled leader of the Indigenous People of Biafra (IPOB) from the custody of the Department of State Services, DSS.
While delivering an address at the Annual National Conference and Convention of the American Veterans of Igbo Descent (AVID) in Dallas, Texas in USA, Mrs Ojukwu urged the southeast governors to come together and demand the release of Kanu.
AVID is a congregation of American citizens, both men and women of Igbo extraction, who are serving military officers and veterans in various branches of the United States military.
Ojukwu, who was a special guest lamented that the initial nonchalant attitude of Igbo leaders towards Kanu’s illegal rendition and continued unlawful incarceration contributed greatly towards inflaming the tensions within the South East region today.
According to her “This nonchalant attitude also brought about the unforeseen consequences of opportunistic criminal elements not even remotely connected with the Indigenous People of Biafra (IPOB) coming into the picture.
“Today, they (opportunistic criminal elements) are masquerading as freedom fighters to perpetuate the most heinous crimes in South Eastern Nigeria.”
“It is only when the leaders in Igboland rise up, jettison their perceived conspiracy of silence and confront the truth will there be the slightest possibility of healing and recovery from the unfortunate condition which Igboland currently finds itself in.
“The onerous task of confronting the Leviathan can only start when we come to terms with the fact that it is the neglect of the leadership in Igboland to effectively highlight and address the blatant marginalization of Ndigbo through the years that created the vacuum which led to the emergence of Nnamdi Kanu, and then proceed to make the necessary amends.”