Nnamdi Kanu's father blasts Uwazuruike, applauds Orji Kalu

Nnamdi Kanu' father asked President Muhammadu Buhari to release his son

- He said his son's incarceration has affected his family badly

- He accused Uwazuruike of being responsible for his son's problem

HRM Eze Israel Okwu Kanu has applauded former Abia governor, Orji Uzor Kalu for visiting his son in prison and accused Ralph Uwazuruike of being responsible for his woes.

Nnamdi Kanu has been in detention since 2015 for treason-related charges due to his agitation for an independent Biafra state and his father has called for his release.

Nnamdi Kanu's father blasts Uwazuruike, applauds Orji Kalu

In an interview with The Sun, Kanu’s father described Kalu who is a member of the All Progressives Congress as a man of the people who is focused on doing everything to see his son released.

He also said the family has been affected by Kanu’s incarceration and expected the British government to intercede considering he has dual citizenship.

He said: When I heard that the former Governor of Abia State, Dr. Orji Uzor Kalu visited my son in prison in Abuja, I was happy. This projects him as someone who loves his people and development. He is a man of the people. The young man (Kalu) equally surprised me when he came to my palace during the Christmas and New Year break to see me.

We discussed so many things including moves he wants to make to get my son, Nnamdi released from prison and solicited my assistance in that direction. I told him that Nnamdi is strong-willed; that he would rather die in what he believes in. But all the same, he could go ahead and discuss with the Federal Government as my son will not have much to say while still in detention.

Orji Uzor Kalu I know is a man of the people as I said earlier and he is a go-getter; whatever he’s set to do, that he achieves. Having said that, if there is anything he knows he can do to get Nnamdi released from detention, I will support him. Mine is that my son should be released first and other things can follow, because he cannot be discussing from inside the prison.

Apart from Kalu visiting me here in my palace, some white men had also visited and the first questions they always asked was whether I am the father of Nnamdi and I would tell them yes. They would also ask me my mind about the agitation my son is spearheading and I would tell them there was nothing wrong with that. Some of them, after explaining things would understand where we are coming from.

Since the agitation, particularly from the time my son was incarcerated, my family has lost a lot in terms of naira and kobo, which space will not permit me to detail. What you see in this compound was put in place before the problem started and since then, there is no addition. Nnamdi on his part has also incurred many losses because for over one year, he has been in detention, his businesses have suffered tremendously.

Last year, I went to Germany, not for Biafra as some people were saying, but for medical treatment because I felt so bad then. Funny enough, while in Germany for four months, nothing was found to be wrong with me, yet I was dying. My health had not so deteriorated like that since my son was incarcerated.

The family does not see the rationale behind the court granting Federal Government’s request that their witnesses should wear mask. It shows that there is something these people are trying to hide in my son’s case. We’ve protested this through Nnamdi’s lawyers and we are still protesting.

It surprises me that it is the same Nnamdi who was arrested earlier and after interrogation by security agents and I was asked to take him home that is being tried by masked men as so called witnesses. It was during this period we knew that it was Chief Ralph Uwazuruike who was instrumental to my son’s problem because during the time in question, he sent thugs that attacked Nnamdi when he went for the traditional marriage ceremony of his wife.

My word for President Muhammadu Buhari is that he should release my son because in Nigeria and indeed the world over, we have freedom of speech and Nnamdi has not done anything to deserve being incarcerated for this long. I am saying this because you cannot be talking about peace in the country while Nnamdi is languishing in detention.

We had expected the British Government to have intervened in my son’s case. This expectation emanated from the fact that Nnamdi is a British citizen who had committed no offence. If the Federal Government has been begging Boko Haram members and the Niger Delta militants to lay down their arms for dialogue and even granted some of them amnesty; why should they treat my son’s case different and Britain does not see that something is wrong somewhere? It behoves on them to know that Nnamdi did not commit any crime against Nigeria and they owe him a duty as their citizen to ensure he is released from this unjust incarceration.