National Coordinator, Concerned Advocates for Good Governance, Olusegun Bamgbose, has disclosed that he has credible information that President Muhammadu Buhari is planning to release the leader of the Indigenous People of Biafra, Nnamdi Kanu and Yoruba Nation agitator, Sunday Igboho, soon.
Truetells Nigeria reports that the Lagos based lawyer said the plan to release the separatists is because of the 2023 general elections.
Bamgbose while speaking with Daily Post said the clampdown on the IPOB leader and Yoruba activist will soon be over.
“There are strong underground moves both within and outside the country to discontinue the charges against them.”
“Unknown to many Nigerians, some very close allies of President Buhari have strongly advised him to handle their cases wisely because of the 2023 general elections,” he said.
The lawyer claimed that the President has told his allies that clamping down on the agitators will affect the All Progressives Congress in 2023.
“It’s obvious from the body language of the President that he will yield to their advice. Another aspect of it is that some Southern Governors are equally secretly negotiating soft ground for the embattled agitators,” he added.
“They are not making it public for obvious reasons. There is also the pressure from International Community to release them soon. In order words, both agitators may soon regain their freedom, hopefully before the end of the year.
“Some top politicians think that considering that 2022 will be the kickstart of the electioneering campaign for the 2023 general elections, it will be ideal to release them this year.
“However, of major concern is the continued violence in the South East. The government seems to be closely monitoring events in South East.
“There are plans to release Igboho to continue his journey to Germany and later release Nnamdi Kanu to southeast Governors and Ohaneze, but on condition that he will stay back in Nigeria.
“The plans are good but the primary thing President Buhari should do is to ensure fairness to all zones in the country. He is not to be seen as representing the interest of a clan or region.
“He was not elected by a particular section of Nigeria. There must be nothing like marginalization in any form. The votes of his clan or region could not have made him the President of Nigeria.
“In the 2011 Presidential elections, he got 12 million votes, the majority of which came from the North, but he lost to Jonathan. He won in 2015 because the South supported him. In other words, he should be more nationalistic in his approach to national issues,” he said.