Former Senate Minority Leader, Senator Enyinnaya Abaribe, has reacted to the conviction and life sentence handed to Mazi Nnamdi Kanu, leader of the proscribed Indigenous People of Biafra (IPOB), saying the development did not come as a surprise to many Nigerians, particularly in the South East.
Mazi Kanu’s sentencing, delivered on Thursday after a legal battle spanning nearly a decade, has drawn sharp reactions from political and social groups across the country.
In a statement issued by his Media Adviser, Uchenna Awom, Senator Abaribe said the judgment appeared predetermined from the moment the Federal Government declined appeals for clemency or inclusion of Kanu in previous amnesty considerations extended to other groups.
According to the lawmaker, several pleas from stakeholders urging the government to explore dialogue or pardon yielded no result, making Thursday’s verdict almost inevitable.
“We were not taken aback. When the Federal Government refused to consider extending amnesty to Nnamdi Kanu as it had done in the past for other groups, it became clear that this was the direction things were heading, ” he said
Abaribe criticised what he described as uneven application of justice in Nigeria.
He argued that armed groups in other regions had benefitted from negotiations and reintegration programmes, while similar considerations were denied in Kanu’s case.
He cited instances where federal and state authorities engaged militants and insurgents in peace deals, including the reintegration of ex–Niger Delta militants who later received major pipeline surveillance contracts.
“Is it not an irony,” he asked, “that negotiations and peace accords were readily offered to violent groups in the North-East and North-West, yet similar mechanisms were not even contemplated for the South East?
”This is why many believe justice is not evenly distributed in Nigeria.”
Despite his reservations about the ruling, the senator urged residents of the South East and supporters of Kanu nationwide to refrain from violence and to avoid actions that could escalate tensions.
He said the region had exhausted all diplomatic avenues to advocate for leniency and would now entrust the matter to President Bola Tinubu.
Abaribe further expressed hope that the president might still intervene in the interest of national unity.
“We ask our people and all lovers of peace in this nation to stay calm, continue praying, and refrain from taking the law into their own hands.
“We still hope that justice, equity, and fairness will ultimately guide the affairs of this nation, ” he said.
Kanu’s lawyers have already announced their intention to challenge the life sentence at the Court of Appeal, insisting that several legal and constitutional issues remain unresolved.
The Federal Government’s legal team, however, described the judgment as a triumph for the rule of law.
