Former President Muhammadu Buhari claims that instead of sending Nnamdi Kanu back to Nigeria for a trial, the Federal Government should have used security forces to kill the leader of the outlawed Indigenous People of Biafra (IPOB).
Femi Adesina, his former spokesperson, quoted the ex-president as saying this in ‘Reflections of a Special Adviser, Media and Publicity (2015-2023)’, revealed that Kanu’s return to Nigeria was an act of favour from the government to the separatist leader.
The book was launched in Abuja last week.
Adesina explained that a group of prominent Igbo leaders, called Highly-Respected Igbo Greats, led by Mbazulike Ameachi, a former minister of aviation in the first republic, pleaded with the former president to release Kanu.
Buhari, according to Adesina, stated that while he had the option to eliminate Kanu, his government believed it was best for all parties involved to bring him back to Nigeria to face trial.
“In the past six years, I have developed a system in which I don’t interfere with the judiciary,” Buhari said.
“Let him make his case in court instead of giving a terrible impression of the country from outside. That was why in the case of Kanu, I said the best was to subject him to the system.
“I feel it is a favour to give him (Kanu) that opportunity. Government could have mobilized to eliminate him where he was, but we did not do that.
“You have made an extremely difficult demand on me as the leader of this country. The implication of your request is very serious. In the last six years, nobody will say I have confronted the judiciary.
“We are developing a country, and we have to go through the pains. The demand you have made is heavy, but I will consider it. I am glad to know you closely at this time.”
Kanu is currently facing treason charges in the Federal High Court in Abuja.
He is being held in the custody of the State Security Service (SSS) at its headquarters in Abuja, following the Nigerian government’s repatriation of him from Kenya in 2021, which his attorneys described as “abduction.”
