Headline

IPOB: Soludo Under Attack As Plan To Release Nnamdi Kanu Backfires

Published

1 year ago

January 22, 2023

Editor

A week after calling for the release of the embattled leader of the Indigenous People of Biafra, IPOB, Mazi Nnamdi Kanu, Governor Charles Soludo of Anambra State has come under attack by prominent Igbo leaders and groups.

Soludo had while speaking at the All Progressive Grand Alliance, APGA, campaign rally in Awka, a week ago, admitted that Kanu was central to the resolution of the insecurity devastating the South East and urged the FG to release the separatist leader unconditionally.

He had assured that if Kanu could not be released unconditionally, he would stand surety for him.

Kanu has been in detention since his repatriation from Kenya in June 2021. The FG has refused to release him despite multiple court orders.

Recall that the Appeal Court sitting in Abuja had on October 13, discharged Kanu of all counts of terrorism charges preferred against him by the government.

This is after the UN Working Group on Human Rights and Arbitrary Detention, had in July, directed the FG to immediately and unconditionally release the IPOB leader from the unlawful detention and pay him adequate compensation for the flagrant violation of his human rights.

The international body also indicted the Kenyan and Nigerian for the unlawful abduction, torture, rendition, and continued detention of Kanu.

Soludo is a coward —Ohanaeze Youth

The Ohanaeze Youth Council, OYC, the apex socio-cultural youth organization of Ohanaeze Ndigbo Worldwide, yesterday, described Soludo’s call for the release of Nnamdi Kanu as an insult to Ndigbo and a mockery of the self-determination struggle by the IPOB.

The OYC, through its National President, Comrade Igboayaka O. Igboayaka, said Soludo’s call was a mere political statement to excite people, noting that his words could not be taken seriously.

According to him, the governor’s outburst was a mere show-up which lacked executive honour.

He said: “It’s not in the blood of an Igbo man to be a coward. If Soludo is not a coward, he could have respected his office and paid a special visit to President Mohammadu Buhari and demanded the release of Kanu like Chief Mbazulike Amaechi did.

“Soludo has demonstrated cowardice. Soludo could bring out his time and write a volume of pages about how Peter Obi will not make it for the Presidency, but he couldn’t make out the same time to write to Mr President why they should obey the court order and release Nnamdi Kanu.

“I am still waiting when the Anambra governor should show bravery like a man, put down in writing why Nnamdi Kanu should be released and summon the courage to visit President Buhari and secure the release of Kanu”.

‘Laundering battered image’

Similarly, Igbo youths under the aegis of Coalition of South East Youths Leaders, COSEYL, picked holes in Soludo’s volunteering to surety the detained IPOB leader saying the offer was not borne out of pure motive.

President General of COSEYL, Comrade Goodluck Ibe, told Sunday Vanguard that the former Central Bank of Nigeria, CBN, boss only wanted to use Kanu to possibly launder his battered image following his recent unwarranted media attacks on the presidential candidate of the Labour Party, LP, Mr. Peter Obi.

He argued that instead of volunteering to stand surety for Kanu, Soludo should rather be mounting pressure on the government to comply with the court judgements which ordered the unconditional release of the IPOB leader.

“The demand is not borne out of a genuine desire to defend Igbo interest but to enhance his political interest. Soludo just wants to use Nnamdi Kanu for political advantage and to launder his image”, he asserted.

Soludo not sincere —INC

Igbo National Council, INC, through its National President, Chilos Godsent, on its part, stated that Soludo was not sincere in his demand for the IPOB leader’s release.

According to INC, Soludo’s action was an attempt to repair his alleged battered image in Anambra State.

He stressed that Kanu had since been discharged and acquitted by a competent court and there was no need for anybody to beg for his release.

The pro-Igbo group said: “The INC views the demand as a political strategy for Soludo to regain his bartered political image and reputation.

“Nigerians will recall that Soludo has lost popularity and acceptance in his state and South East since his open opposition against the candidature of Peter Obi of the Labour Party, LP.

“Soludo is not sincere. His call is part of his media populist strategy to deceive the Igbo Nation and Nigerians at large.”

Call unnecessary — Okeke, ex-PSC boss

For Chief Simon Okeke, a former Chairman of the Police Service Commission, PSC, the call by the Anambra governor was unnecessary since he has been discharged and acquitted by the court.

He, however, agreed with Soludo that Kanu’s release would ensure peaceful elections in the South-East as IPOB is not against the election in the region.

“Soludo’s readiness to sign surety for the release of Kanu is unnecessary since he has been discharged and acquitted by the court. The continued detention of Kanu is a breach of fundamental human rights because he has been discharged and acquitted of all charges.

“So Nnamdi Kanu should be released without further delay, that is my view and it should be the view of every responsible and peace-loving Nigerian, I believe strongly that his release will ensue peaceful election in South East as IPoB is not against elections in the region”, he stated.

FG’s silence worrisome — Okoro

Meanwhile, Professor Okee Okoro of the Department of Library and Information Science, Imo State University, Owerri, expressed dismay over the silence of the FG on Soludo’s request.

He said: “As a premier governor statesman, it is unbelievable that the government remained askance and adamant to Soludo’s presentation. We urge the FG to respect the judgements of courts of competent jurisdictions; pleas of well-meaning persons across the globe; appeals by ebullient individuals and stakeholders as a way of restoring peace in the South-East and Nigeria”.

Welcome development — Ezeife

But for a former governor of Anambra State, Chief Chukwuemeka Ezeife, Soludo’s demand was a welcome development and a call that should be fully supported by other Igbo leaders.

According to Ezeife, the cases against Kanu “have been quashed. We, therefore, beg President Buhari to release the IPOB leader, especially and because of the 2023 election, and for it to go well in South East and for people not to be afraid of coming out to vote.”
VANGUARD

Headline

List Of Persons On Board Iranian President’s Missing Helicopter

Published

4 hours ago

May 19, 2024

Editor

A helicopter carrying Iranian President Ebrahim Raisi was involved in a hard landing while visiting a northern region and his condition is currently unknown.

There were three helicopters in this convoy, two of which were carrying ministers and officials, and they arrived at their destination safely.

According to reports, different rescue groups are moving towards the area to locate the missing helicopter.

DAILY POST reported that it was unclear if Raisi and others on board with him survived the crash.

However, given the unsuitable weather conditions, it may take some time for the rescue team to find the helicopter.

According to World of Statistics, those onboard the helicopter when the incident occurred include Iranian President Ebrahim Raisi, Iranian Foreign Minister Hossein Amirabdollahian, East Azerbaijan Governor Malek Rahmati, and Ayatollah Mohammad Ali Ale-Hashem, representative of Iranian Supreme Leader to East Azerbaijan.

Headline

Saudi Arabia, Iraq, Azerbaijan Offer Help To Search President Raisi’s Helicopter

Published

4 hours ago

May 19, 2024

Editor

Iranian search and rescue teams were scouring a fog-shrouded mountainside after a helicopter carrying President Ebrahim Raisi went missing in an “accident” on Sunday, state media said.

Fears grew for the 63-year-old ultraconservative after contact was lost with the helicopter carrying him as well as Foreign Minister Hossein Amir-Abdollahian in East Azerbaijan province, reports said.

“An accident happened to the helicopter carrying the president” in the Jolfa region of the western province, state television said, while some officials described the incident as a “hard landing”.

“The harsh weather conditions and heavy fog have made it difficult for the rescue teams to reach the accident site,” said one state broadcaster.

More than 40 rescue teams using search dogs and drones were sent to the site, reported the IRNA news agency.

Raisi was visiting the province where he inaugurated a dam project together with Azerbaijan’s President Ilham Aliyev, on the border between the two countries.

Raisi’s convoy included three helicopters, and the other two had “reached their destination safely,” according to Tasnim news agency.

Foreign countries were closely following the search effort at a time of high regional tensions over the Gaza war between Israel and Hamas since October 7 that has drawn in other armed groups in the Middle East.

A US State Department spokesman said: “We are closely following reports of a possible hard landing of a helicopter in Iran carrying the Iranian president and foreign minister.

“We have no further comment at this time.”

An Iranian Red Crescent team was seen walking up a slope in thick fog and drizzling rain, while other live footage showed worshippers reciting prayers in the holy city of Mashhad, Raisi’s hometown.

In neighbouring Iraq, Prime Minister Mohamed Shia al-Sudani “instructed the interior ministry and the Iraqi Red Crescent and other relevant authorities to offer available resources… to aid in the search”.

Azeri President Aliyev said in a post on X that “we were profoundly troubled by the news of a helicopter carrying the top delegation crash-landing in Iran”.

“Our prayers to Allah Almighty are with President Ebrahim Raisi and the accompanying delegation,” he said, noting that his country “stands ready to offer any assistance needed”.

The accident happened in the mountainous protected forest area of Dizmar near the town of Varzaghan, said the official IRNA news agency.

Military personnel along with the Revolutionary Guards and police had also deployed teams to the area, said army chief-of-staff Mohammad Bagheri.

Iran’s Health Minister Bahram Eynollahi said medical resources had been dispatched.

The reformist Shargh daily also reported that “the helicopter carrying the president crashed” while two other helicopters had landed safely.

Interior Minister Ahmad Vahidi said one of the helicopters “made a hard landing due to bad weather conditions” and that it was “difficult to establish communication” with the aircraft.

Raisi has been president of the Islamic Republic since 2021 when he succeeded the moderate Hassan Rouhani, for a term during which Iran has faced crisis and conflict.

He took the reins of a country in the grip of a deep social crisis and an economy strained by US sanctions against Tehran over its contested nuclear programme.

Iran saw a wave of mass protests triggered by the death in custody of Iranian-Kurdish woman Mahsa Amini in September 2022 after her arrest for allegedly flouting dress rules for women.

In March 2023, regional rivals Iran and Saudi Arabia signed a surprise deal that restored diplomatic relations.

Saudi Arabia on Sunday voiced “great concern” after Sunday incident, offering to help with the response.

“We affirm that the Kingdom stands by the sisterly Islamic Republic of Iran in these difficult circumstances and its readiness to provide any assistance that the Iranian agencies need,” the foreign ministry of the Gulf kingdom, a longtime rival of Iran, said in a statement.

The war in Gaza that broke out on October 7 sent regional tensions soaring again and a series of tit-for-tat escalations led to Tehran launching hundreds of missiles and rockets directly at Israel in April 2024.

In a speech following Sunday’s dam inauguration, Raisi emphasised Iran’s support for Palestinians, a centrepiece of its foreign policy since the 1979 Islamic revolution.

“We believe that Palestine is the first issue of the Muslim world, and we are convinced that the people of Iran and Azerbaijan always support the people of Palestine and Gaza and hate the Zionist regime,” said Raisi.

Raisi, born in 1960 in northeast Iran’s holy city of Mashhad, served as Tehran’s prosecutor-general from 1989 to 1994, deputy chief of the Judicial Authority for a decade from 2004, and then national prosecutor-general in 2014.

His black turban signifies direct descent from the Prophet Mohammed, and state media has referred to him by the senior title of ayatollah in the Shiite clerical hierarchy.

Headline

Iranian President: Hamas Raises ‘Great Concern’ Over Helicopter Crash

Published

4 hours ago

May 19, 2024

Editor

Hamas has issued a statement voicing “great concern” after a helicopter carrying Iranian President Ebrahim Raisi and other Iranian officials crashed on Sunday, CNN reports.

Recall that a helicopter carrying Raisi was involved in a hard landing while visiting a northern region and his condition is currently unknown.

Details about the crash are still unclear, as rescue groups are moving towards the area to locate the missing helicopter.

However, Hamas has expressed “solidarity” towards the president and the “brotherly Iranian people.”

The Hamas statement reads partly: “In this painful incident, we express our full solidarity with the Islamic Republic of Iran, its leadership, government, and people, and we ask Allah Almighty to protect and ensure the safety of the Iranian President and his accompanying delegation, and to keep all harm away from the brotherly Iranian people.”