By CHARLES IWUOHA

Detained leader of the proscribed Indigenous People of Biafra (IPOB), Mazi Nnamdi Kanu, has asked those pleading for his release from detention to desist.

Kanu insisted that he hasn?t committed the crime of treason that he has been accused because the right to self-determination is guaranteed by the 1999 Constitution.

The IPOB leader's position is contained in a statement titled: ?Upholding the rule of law is more important to me than anything else,? and released on his behalf on Saturday, by his legal team led by Aloy Ejimakor.

Appreciating the efforts and calls by well -meaning Nigerians to secure his release, Kanu asserted that releasing him should not be construed as an act of pardon or mercy, but that the federal government should comply with a subsisting federal high court judgement, that declared his detention as unconstitutional and unlawful.

Alternatively, he submitted that the decision to free him from detention and discontinue his infamous prosecution can be made by the federal government, by discontinuing his trial.

Kanu therefore advised those pleading for his release to stop because he believes that his clamour for self -determination for the people of the South East, which the federal government interprets as a crime, is an inalienable right, guaranteed under the laws of Nigeria, the United Nations, the United Kingdom and Kenya.

He added that the perverse and unlawful criminalisation of his exercise of this right, should not unwittingly be encouraged through some misguided appeals for pardon, clemency or mercy, as releasing him is not an act of mercy or pardon, but an act of abiding by the rule of law.

?In as much as those calling for his release are sincere, their calls for pardon or clemency may be misconstrued as a green light to the executive branch or even the courts to violate the rule of law by continuing to subject Mazi Nnamdi Kanu to a prosecution or trial that does not comport with the tenets of the constitution and Nigeria?s treaty obligations.

?Instead of begging, those desiring his release should emulate the language and tact used by Afenifere, Ohanaeze, World Igbo Congress, ranking members of the National Assembly, American Military Veterans of Igbo Descent (AVID), Ambassadors for Self Determination (based in America), the international community and a host of others who have made it clear that Mazi Nnamdi Kanu deserves to be released because he has committed no offence known to law.

?If truth be told, it is Nigeria?s executive branch which extraordinarily renditioned Mazi Nnamdi Kanu that should show contrition for resorting to extraordinary rendition which is a state crime under international law and and the common law.

?If any begging must be done, it should be directed to the courts to conduct his cases and that of IPOB with the utmost impartiality and adherence to the rule of law, equity and good conscience.

?Most importantly, Mazi Nnamdi Kanu sincerely thanks everyone working assiduously towards the restoration of security, tranquility and good order in his beloved Igboland,? the statement said.

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