The Catholic Bishops Conference of Nigeria (CBCN) has urged President Bola Tinubu to use his good office to pursue all civil remedies to free Nnamdi Kanu, the leader of the banned Indigenous People of Biafra (IPOB), in the best interests of the South-East.
The call comes barely 24 hours after the IPOB leader’s bail application was rejected by a Federal High Court in Abuja.
The President of the Catholic Bishops Conference of Nigeria, Most Reverend Lucius Ugorji, said this during the episcopal ordination of the Auxiliary Bishop of Orlu Diocese in Imo State on Wednesday.
According to Most Rev. Ugorji, the release of Kanu will pave the way to economic prosperity and security in the south east.
He added that his continued detention has been the major cause of insecurity in the South East, and the Monday sit-at-home has paralysed the economy of the South-East and by making many businesses lose billions of naira on a weekly basis.
Justice Binta Nyako of the Federal High Court in Abuja denied bail to Kanu on Tuesday.
The court, however, ordered an accelerated hearing of the case involving the embattled IPOB leader, who is facing charges bordering on treasonable felony.
Kanu, who was present at the court on Tuesday, has been in the custody of the Department of State Services (DSS) since his arrest in June 2021.
Delivering the ruling, Justice Nyako held that the court would only grant an accelerated hearing in the matter and ordered the prosecution to call its first witness.
However, counsel for Kanu, Aloy Ejimakor, expressed his displeasure over the ruling, saying the IPOB leader’s legal team cannot go on with the proceedings if they are not allowed to speak with their client.
Ejimakor added that it has been difficult to have a meeting with Kanu in the custody of the DSS, as their conversations were always monitored and Kanu is still wearing the same outfit that the court ordered to be changed.
He alleged unfair treatment of his client, which he said contravened the Nigerian Constitution.