Nigeria’s foremost student body, the National Association of Nigerian Students (NANS), has urged President Bola Ahmed Tinubu to use his office to secure the immediate and unconditional release of detained IPOB leader, Mazi Nnamdi Kanu.
This they indicated is instructive to bring a political solution to a national problem.
NANS President, Comrade Isah Atiku Abubakar, and Public Relations Officer, Comrade Orowole Eniola, in a statement after a leadership meeting at Prince Abubakar Audu University, Anyigba, said Kanu’s prolonged detention since June 2021 sends ‘the wrong signal’ to Nigerians, especially young people in the South-East.
“It is evident that he has been granted bail on several occasions by competent courts, yet those judgments have not been enforced. No section of the country should feel marginalized or treated as second-class citizens,” Abubakar said, insisting that a political solution is the only viable path.
The students’ body reminded Tinubu that calls for Kanu’s release have come from a wide spectrum of voices including governors, lawmakers, religious leaders, Ohaneze Ndigbo, and international organizations.
They therefore urged the President to seize the opportunity to “heal wounds and strengthen democracy.”
NANS stressed that freeing Kanu would douse tension in the South-East and reaffirm Tinubu’s commitment to justice, fairness, and national unity.
“This is not just about one man,” Eniola said. “It is about the integrity of our democracy and the hope of young Nigerians.”