…Says lawyers spoke without his authorization

From Okey Sampson, Aba

DETAINED leader of the Indigenous People of Biafra (IPOB), Nnamdi Kanu, has declared that he was in total support of what the Niger Del- ta Avengers (NDA) was doing for the emancipation of the oil rich region.

Speaking through his younger brother, Prince Emmanuel Kanu, the IPOB leader dissociated himself from the statement credited to his lawyers to the effect that he was not averse to political solutions in resolving his ordeal.

A representative of Kanu’s legal team, Mr. Ifeanyi Ejiofor, had while addressing a press conference in Abuja on Friday denied claims that the detained

IPOB leader was working with some militant groups in the Niger Delta, including the Movement for the Emancipation of the Niger Delta (MEND) and the NDA.

Emmanuel, however, insist- ed that Kanu never authorised anybody, including his lawyers, to speak on his behalf, threatening that there would be a massive shake up in his legal team. Stating that the north was talking about one Nigeria due to the crude oil in the Niger Delta, Emmanuel said his elder brother supports the cause of the NDA.

But he clarified that the IPOB leader had nothing to do with the MEND and would not welcome the outcome of their purported discussion with the Federal Government for his release.

“Nnamdi Kanu never authorised anybody including the Niger Delta militant groups and of course his lawyers to speak on his behalf over his release by the Federal Government.

“If the Federal Government wants to dialogue with Nnamdi Kanu, they know where they kept him, but in case they have forgotten, they should go to Kuje Prison where they have incarcerated him since October last year.

“Nnamdi Kanu’s lawyers goofed over this matter, and I think in the weeks to come, there will be massive shakeup in the legal team because things will not continue to go this way,” Emmanuel said.

While restating that the charge against his elder brother was fabricated, Emmanuel said Kanu did not do anything wrong to the Nigerian state and therefore, talking about political solutions to his ordeal was out of place.

“Crime must be committed against the Nigerian state by an individual before one can talk about proffering a political solution to the problem. In Nnamdi Kanu’s case, he has committed no crime against the state and it will be wrong for anybody to start talking about political solution,” he noted.