Nnamdi Kanu: Presidency Fires as Peter Obi Kicks Against Court Judgment
- President Bola Tinubu's special assistant on social media, Olusegun Dada, has taken a swipe at the Labour Party 2023 presidential candidate, Peter Obi
- Peter Obi is under fire over his criticism of the Federal High Court judgment sentencing Nnamdi Kanu, estranged leader of IPOB, to life imprisonment
- The presidency's comment on Peter Obi's criticism of the constitutional court judgment has started generating reactions from Nigeria
The presidency has knocked Peter Obi, the 2027 presidential candidate of the Labour Party and former governor of Anambra state, over his condemnation of the judgment handed down to the estranged leader of the proscribed Indigenous People of Biafra (IPOB), Nnamdi Kanu.
Kanu was handed multiple sentences, including a life sentence, on Thursday, November 20, over the terror activities of the proscribed group in the southeast region by the Federal High Court in Abuja.
Source: Twitter
Obi speaks on Kanu's sentencing
Reacting to the judgment, Obi described the ruling as "unfortunate", saying that the arrest, detention and conviction of Kanu were a failure of leadership in the country. He added that the government did not understand the issue at hand.
Speaking on Obi's criticism of the constitutional court, Olusegun Dada, a special assistant to President Bola Tinubu on social media, described Obi's claim as "a calculated attempt to politicise a national security issue."
The presidential aide accused the former governor of turning the conviction of Kanu into another political posturing. He recalled that Obi has not "openly condemned the killings, beheadings, arson, kidnappings, and terror carried out by IPOB and ESN."
How the presidency accused Peter Obi
He noted how Obi has been "carefully silent" about the deadly activities of IPOB and kept mute on the "innocent people were murdered" in the southeast.
His statement reads:
"You had no comment when sit-at-home orders crippled economic life and cost lives. You consistently avoided the topic until now, when the judgment offers you a chance to score political points. Even in this long statement, you still refused to mention a single victim of IPOB’s violence. Not one. Instead, you paint Kanu as the aggrieved party, while erasing the pain of those whose lives his rhetoric helped destroy."
The IPOB group and its security outfit, Eastern Security Network (ESN), have been responsible for several attacks in the five states of the southeast region, including prominent Nigerians, such as the husband of the late Dora Akunyili.
However, Obi has always described the group as mere agitators, seeking freedom. The group has been responsible for the killing of policemen, soldiers, burning of police stations, INEC offices and several other attacks in the southeast region.
See Dada's full statement here:
Analyst speaks on Kanu's sentencing
Omotayo Yusuf, a political analyst, in an exclusive interview with Legit.ng, described the judgment as a welcome development, citing that it was constitutional.
His statement reads:
"Frankly, I think the sentencing of Kanu, and this might be coming from the strong place of bias about how he has been going about his Biafra campaigns, which has led to the death of hundreds of people in the southeast region, I welcome the sentencing, it is constitutional."
Court explains how Kanu would do his sentencing
Legit.ng earlier reported that the federal high court in Abuja has sentenced the estranged leader of the proscribed IPOB, Nnamdi Kanu, to life imprisonment.
While delivering the judgment, Justice James Omotosho ordered that Kanu should not be allowed to serve in the Kuje correctional centre and gave a reason.
The court also compelled Kanu not to have access to any electronic gadget, and if there is a need for that, it will have to be at the discretion of the NSA.
Source: Legit.ng
