President Muhammadu Buhari has assured leaders of South-East extraction that he would consider their request to unconditionally release detained Leader of Indigenous People of Biafra (IPOB), Nnamdi Kanu.
According to a presidential statement, Buhari stated this Friday while playing host to a group under the aegis of Highly Respected Igbo Greats, led by First Republic Minister of Aviation, Mbazulike Amaechi, at State House, Abuja.
The statement however quoted the president as telling the Igbo leaders that their request was a “heavy” one as it negated the principles of separation of powers between the Executive and Judiciary.
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“You’ve made an extremely difficult demand on me as leader of this country. The implication of your request is very serious.
“In the last six years, since I became President, nobody would say I have confronted or interfered in the work of the Judiciary. God has spared you, and given you a clear head at this age, with a very sharp memory. A lot of people half your age are confused already. But the demand you made is heavy. I will consider it,” the President was quoted to have told Amaechi.
Reiterating his belief in non-interference with the work of the judiciary, the president said when Kanu jumped bail and he re-arrested and brought back to Nigeria, “I said the best thing was to subject him to the system. Let him make his case in court, instead of giving very negative impressions of the country from the outside. I feel it’s even a favour to give him that opportunity.”
The president also used the opportunity to console with the 93-year-old Amaechi over the recent loss of his wife.