By Seun Ogundele
The increasing publicity stunt and propaganda against the Federal Government by Fein Bruce, the American legal consultant to the leader of the proscribed Indigenous People of Biafra (IPOB), Nnamdi Kanu, are becoming a nuisance and an embarrassment to the legal professional. Everyone that knows Fein knows he preys on stoking conflicts in developing countries, especially Africa, to pursue a destructive agenda. His paymasters are typically government adversaries who cheaply secure his services as a front for deleterious and destabilising causes.
Internationally, Fein is famous for being an unapologetic critic of sponsored propaganda against almost all United States Presidents including, Bush, Clinton, Obama and Trump. He was strongly accused by the Armenian Diaspora group in 2009 of being sponsored by Turkish government to silence the Armenian-American community to whittle down the Turkish genocide of the Armenian people and usurpation of their homeland. Fein, till date, has widely and openly denied the existence of the Armenian genocide.
The proceeds of his trickery services, of course, continue to burgeon his financial status and vain popularity. It is, however, not surprising that, given his antecedents, he becomes the easiest foreign tool acquired by IPOB and other subversive interests to malign and destabilise governments. Fein’s support for IPOB, an outlawed group, is expected, given that he has long been a staunch critic of President Muhammadu Buhari and a purveyor of anything that could instigate violence and threaten the collective peace of Nigeria. Unfortunately for him and his bankrollers, Nigerian authorities are strongly prepared this time to truncate any plan by internal or external forces to obstruct the law. Thus, his recent vituperation against the Nigeria government is not far-fetched. Alleging that Kenyan and Nigerian governments manhandled and tortured Kanu after his disgraceful arrest is utter balderdash.
Analysing Kanu’s appearance with an unbiased mind since his re-arrest shows he even looks healthier and vigorous in detention. Therefore, Fein and his cohorts should take a back seat and let the law take its course. Their cheap blackmail of always crying foul about Kanu with no evidence at all to back their claims is irritating and shows their defence is weakness, thus these lies and instigations against the Nigerian government. By now, the average Nigerian is aware of IPOB’s irksome propaganda and it is for their lack of credibility as a group that Fein, a phony lawyer, was hired to legally represent them. What many probably do not know is that Fein has a grudge against Nigeria. A report by Sahara Reporters had exposed that he assisted one Emeka Ugwuonye to steal Nigeria’s estate tax. Ugwuonye, assisted by Fein, was found liable by the US Superior Court for embezzling $1.5m belonging to the Nigerian Embassy. Out of shame, Fein was forced to tender and publish a public apology to Nigeria for the role he played in the scam.
Also, because people like Fein feed on crisis situations to remain relevant, he falsely accused the Hausa of killing Igbo children and infants in Igboland in order to spark religious violence and civil disobedience. The United States chapter of the Nigerians in Diaspora Monitoring Group had once accused him of exploring conflicts to make money without giving a damn how it affects the local population.
It will augur well for IPOB and their sympathizers to realise soonest that Fein’s ranting does not translate to the salvation of their messiah, Nnamdi Kanu. The case is in court. The law must be allowed to take its full course. The mindless killing and shedding of innocent blood by the Eastern Security Network and destabilization of the South-East region must be retributed. Nigerian authorities have an obligation to tighten all loose ends to fend off all forms of meddling in the Kanu case by the likes of Fein to undermine Nigeria’s sovereignty.
•Ogundele is a public affairs analyst, resident in Lagos