Igbo Youths Condemn Humiliation of Ohaneze Leaders, Lawyers, Others At Kanu’s Trial

By Frank Oshanugor

An all-Igbo youths organization, New Coalition Of Igbo Youths has strongly condemned what it called “excessive display of state power and humiliation of Igbo leaders” by operatives of the Department of State Service (DSS) at the trial of Nnamdi Kanu, the leader of the Indigenous Peoples of Biafra (IPoB in Abuja on Wednesday.

Speaking with our correspondent on Thursday, the Acting National Coordinator of the group; Mr. Jackson Nwaji-Uwa said it was a big disgrace and highly embarrassing to see Igbo traditional rulers, Ohaneze Ndigbo leaders and others of Igbo extraction who came out in solidarity to witness the trial of Kanu being locked out of the Federal High Court, Abuja premises by officials of the DSS who are paid with tax payers money.

The group recalled that similar thing happened on October 21, 2021 when Kanu was arraigned at the same court where DSS operatives and police prevented former Governor of Anambra State, Chukwuemeka Ezeife, Ohaneze Ndigbo leaders and journalists from getting access into the court room to watch proceedings.

The New Coalition Of Igbo Youths chieftain stated further that the locking out of some lawyers including Mr. Bruce Fein  who came all the way from the United States of America on behalf of Nnamdi Kanu has entirely portrayed the Nigerian state as thriving in “militarisation of the judicial process by DSS and its collaborators,” which it said; has prompted the American lawyer to vow to seek redress in the International Court of Justice.

The group faulted the position of the trial judge, Binta Nyako who wanted the case to continue even when she was aware of the fact that DSS had locked Kanu’s lawyer Ifeanyi Ejiofor and his colleagues out of the court room.

According to the Coalition coordinator, a court environment ought to offer hope for the oppressed but reverse has become the case in the Nnamdi Kanu matter as it seemed as the court and DSS are playing out a script.

For locking out Ohaneze Ndigbo leaders among whom were the traditional rulers, the Coalition contended that the whole Igbo race was being disgraced by state security agents in a democracy that prides itself with promotion of the Rule of Law.

The Youth body has therefore challenged the Ohaneze Ndigbo leadership to come out in clear terms and address this endless spate of humiliation of its people anything Nnamdi Kanu’s trial has come up before they would be forced to take laws into their hands.