Former Governor of Abia State, Senator Orji Kalu, on Sunday put the total number of those killed in the wake of the insecurity in Igboland at 30,000, describing most of the reactions to the sentencing of Nnamdi Kanu by the Federal High Court as emotional.
Kalu, who spoke on a national television programme, explained that it was unfortunate that nobody was talking about the number of businesses closed down as a result of the insecurity in the region, as well as persons who lost their jobs.
Highlighting the role he played in the release of Nnamdi Kanu in 2017, the former Abia governor narrated how in 2016, he gave the late President Muhammadu Buhari a condition that Nnamdi Kanu must be released before he (Kalu) could join the All Progressives Congress (APC).
However, he expressed the belief that although there should be a political resolution to the matter, the government must not be seen as encouraging bad behaviour.
“Let me tell you, when we focus solely on Nnamdi Kanu, we have to solve this problem holistically because there were over 30,000 Igbos that were killed. People that had their shops now have no shops. People lost their businesses.
“I used to sell my manufactured products in Aba. I know what the numbers were. And people are just talking about soldiers killed and all the rest of them. There are many people that lost their jobs. There are many people that lost their shops. There are over 30,000 Igbos that were killed in this process, and nobody talks about them. The problem of Nnamdi is what we need to solve. (It’s) a political process,” he stressed.
Besides, ex-Governor Kalu backed Justice Omotoso in his judgement, explaining that his decision remains a judgement of the court, which must be respected. He recalled how he was handed down a 12-year sentence and he never insulted the judge, even when she came to the National Assembly for confirmation as Nigeria’s Chief Justice.
“I have been working with the federal government of Nigeria on how to solve this issue. And nobody should question the decision of Justice Omotosho. Because Justice Omotosho’s decision is a judgment of the court. Nnamdi Kanu’ people are going to the appellate court.
“And we are using the political side to solve the problem. Because this is the area I know. I will contact the Attorney General to advise the President, to advise people who are concerned on how we can solve this problem,” he stated.
But Senator Kalu maintained that anyone who commits or is complicit in committing murder must face trial. “If you say you asked people to kill people, you must face trial,” the federal lawmaker explained.
He stressed that he put enormous pressure on Buhari before Nnamdi Kanu was released in April 2017, before the matter later escalated, leading to his re-arrest. “We must condemn certain behaviors. You cannot rant in a court of competent jurisdiction. I take exception to it. People might say it’s good. Justice Omotosho is just a messenger of the court and he is doing his job. If you are displeased, you go to appellate court. It’s not to start insulting the man,” Kalu maintained.
Besides, the federal lawmaker insisted that the spike in the security challenges nationwide is politically motivated both locally and internationally, arguing that the same was done to former President Goodluck Jonathan just to remove him from office.
“What we are seeing is always a routine, something that goes with the election. And when you have an election, people will try to pressurise the government in power for all kinds of things to start happening.
“And you can remember when President Jonathan was here, a similar thing happened. They put a lot of pressure on the president. And the terrorists and the bandits are orchestrated by some members of the international community and local people who really want to destabilise the government.
“These are not things that are unusual. I’m sure you can see that President Tinubu is equal to the task. For the first time, you see the president cancelling all his engagements,” he posited, expressing the view that all those kidnapped will be recovered.
Emmanuel Addeh
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