By PAMELA EBOH, Awka

One of the lawyers to Nnamdi Kanu, the leader of the Indigenous People of Biafra (IPOB), Bar Ifeanyi Ejiofor, has described the call by the Anambra State Governor, Prof Chukwuma Soludo, for Kanu’s release as a ploy geared towards campaign.

He said Kanu should be released to Nigerians and not to the Anambra State Governor, Chukwuma Soludo.

Soludo had called for the immediate and unconditional release of Kanu during the campaign kick-off of the All Progressives Grand Alliance, on Saturday in Awka.

Kanu, who had been in detention since 2021, was set free by an Appeal Court order on October 13, although days after, the Federal Government filed for a stay of execution order, which was granted by the Appeal Court.

While addressing a crowd at a rally, the Governor had appealed specifically for Soludo's release saying that he was willing to stand as a surety to facilitate his release.

He said: “I am making a passionate appeal to the Federal Government to release Mazi Nnamdi Kanu unconditionally. If he cannot be released unconditionally, I want him released to me and I will stand surety for him.

“We need Nnamdi Kanu in the roundtable conversation to discuss the insecurity in the South-East. We must end insecurity in the South-East and we need Nnamdi Kanu to be around.”

Ejiofor in his reaction said that although Soludo’s call for Kanu’s unconditional release was in line with the court judgment of October 13, the governor’s statement was simply for ‘campaign purposes’.

According to him, Kanu should only be released to Nigerians and not to Soludo, who ‘has been silent’ since the court order releasing Kanu.

“We welcome Soludo’s call for Nnamdi Kanu’s unconditional release. It is in line with the judgment of the Court of Appeal, which had directed, since October 13, 2022, his unconditional release”, he added.