…Calls For Release Of Nnamdi Kanu
A group under the banner of Concerned Igbo Ministers has strongly criticised President Bola Tinubu’s trip to the United Kingdom, describing it as ill-timed amid escalating insecurity across the country.
In a statement signed by Rev. Tony Uzo Anthony, the group expressed “utter disgust and righteous anger” over what it called the President’s absence at a time when Nigeria is grappling with renewed attacks, including a recent suicide bombing in Borno State and killings in parts of the North and South-West.
The ministers said, “We view with utter disgust and righteous anger the spectacle of President Bola Tinubu parading in London while Nigeria burns.”
They added, “At the very moment a suicide bomber unleashes carnage in Borno, while mass slaughter continues unabated across the North and even in the President’s own backyard in Osun State and the entire Western region, the so-called leader chooses red carpets, handshakes with King Charles III and photo-ops with Prime Minister Keir Starmer over the blood of his citizens.”
Describing the development as a failure of leadership, the group stated, “This is not leadership. This is criminal negligence. Any patriotic world leader confronted with such heightened insecurity would have immediately cancelled the trip, flown to the scenes of slaughter, comforted the victims and taken personal command of the crisis.”
They further accused the Federal Government of downplaying the severity of the security situation, referencing comments by the Minister of Information which dismissed criticism as “ignorance and mischief.”
“We reject that arrogant nonsense. The blood flowing in Borno, the corpses in the North, and the fear gripping Osun State are not figments of anyone’s imagination – they are the direct consequence of a government that has lost both the will and the capacity to protect its people,” the statement read.
The group also linked the country’s security challenges to the continued detention of the leader of the Indigenous People of Biafra (IPOB), Nnamdi Kanu, arguing that his release could contribute to improved stability, particularly in the South-East.
“The facts on the ground expose the lie that Mazi Nnamdi Kanu is Nigeria’s problem. On the contrary, he remains the only leader with a workable vision for security,” the ministers said.
They claimed that the establishment of the Eastern Security Network (ESN) had improved safety in the region, stating, “His timely establishment of the Eastern Security Network (ESN) has transformed the South-East into the safest region in the country today – a reality no amount of propaganda can erase.”
While acknowledging that the claim remains contentious, the group insisted that “there is only one worthwhile mission President Tinubu can accomplish during this ill-timed UK visit: he must use the occasion to formally and urgently request His Majesty King Charles III and Prime Minister Keir Starmer to facilitate the immediate, unconditional release of Mazi Nnamdi Kanu,” they said.
The ministers further alleged that, “It is an open secret that British institutional fear of a sovereign Biafra is the real chain holding Mazi Nnamdi Kanu captive. The British Government remains one of the critical parties that must be assuaged for justice to be done,” the statement added.
They urged the President to act swiftly, warning that failure to prioritise the issue would reinforce perceptions that the administration is disconnected from the realities facing Nigerians.
“We urge the President to reach the British leadership without further delay and secure Nnamdi Kanu’s freedom. Anything less will confirm that this government cares more about foreign validation than the lives and aspirations of its people,” the group stated.
The ministers warned, “The blood of slain Nigerians cries out from the ground. History and the Igbo nation will not forgive continued indifference.”
