George Chukwu, an international media personality and presenter, has revealed some details surrounding an alleged deal that led to the release of the leader of the Indigenous People of Biafra, IPOB, Nnamdi Kanu, by the Nigeria Government.
In an emailed statement to The Trent on Wednesday, February 6, 2019, from Toronto, Canada, the renowned presenter with Canada’s Afroglobal Television and vice president of the Nigeria Canadian Association, NCA, said he got reliable information from sources in the deep background from Aso Rock how the IPOB leader was arrested during the military exercise in his hometown along with his parents in 2017 and held in Bonny, Rivers State under solitary confinement and released after the former director-general, DG, of the Department of State Services, DSS, Moman Daura, working together with the former Governor of Abia State, Orji Uzor Kalu, convinced President Muhammadu Buhari and Abba Kyari to recruit him to work for the state.
Chukwu said, “I gathered from a very senior security official in Abuja that Nnamdi Kanu, his parents and driver were apprehended by the Army DMI operatives and initially taken to Ohafia on September16th of 2017. He was later removed from the military facility and taken to a Naval yard in Rivers State. His parents were held at Ohafia before they were transferred to Abuja and kept in a DSS safe house on Kwameh Nkrumah Street, Asokoro in Abuja.
According to my source, Nnamdi Kanu was wounded when he was arrested; he had a broken rib and was limping. The DMI kept the information about his arrest secret to manage the outcome of the infamous Operation Python Dance the army initiated which culminated to his being arrested.
The FG was worried that information leaking about his arrest would trigger off protests and possible riots throughout the South East and South-South. Their fear stems from the fact that Asari Dokubo had aligned with Nnamdi Kanu and the FG did not want the Niger Delta militants to start blowing pipelines again. They already had the Avengers that were causing enough trouble for them.
“When the case Nnamdi Kanu was answering was called and the court was told he was nowhere to be found and following the Army HQ saying they did not know where Nnamdi Kanu was, it was decided that the information became top secret. It was at this time that the British Government made enquiry about Nnamdi Kanu who holds a British citizenship and the Attorney General and the Foreign Affairs Minister assured them that he was safe.
Nnamdi Kanu sneaked into the country in 2015 with both his British passport and his Nigeria passport which enabled the Nigeria government to arrest him as he is also her citizen. Had Nnamdi Kanu had only his British passport he would have been safe. This was the argument the FG through the Attorney General offered to the UK diplomats and they kept cool.
Towards June 2018, Nnamdi Kanu became very ill and at a point took to hunger strike but was well taken care of. The doctor that was seeing him is called Dr. Obegi from Kogi. Nnamdi Kanu was said to have refused being given any injection which worsened his condition.
He told his handlers he was afraid he would be killed the way Musa Yar Adua was allegedly killed. In all the months he was incarcerated he did not break. On the day that the World Cup final was played, his parents were brought to visit him.
“The DSS had been working his parents and they asked Nnamdi to reveal the funding of IPOB and how the money transfers were done. You remember, there was a time the Minister of Information, Alhaji Lai Mohammed gave a press conference saying that IPOB had foreign sponsors from Spain; that information many others were given to the DSS by Nnamdi Kanu.
His parents meeting him was a struck of luck as he became weakened and agreed to reveal all that the authorities wanted from him. But he demanded that his parents be released.
“At this point of negotiation, the Federal Government brought in the former Governor of Abia State, Orji Uzor Kalu and he was contacted by Abba Kyari to get into the negotiation since he knew most of the sponsors of IPOB. Kalu went to see Kanu on in early August but the meeting did not yield any dividend as Kanu maintained his demand that his parents be released.
The former Governor was said to have asked the government to use Nnamdi Kanu’s parents as leverage or collateral knowing that his negotiations with Kanu never ever gets through.
“It was during this time that the International Criminal Court, ICC, in the Hague delivered its verdict on their investigation into the activities of the Nigeria Army and concluded that they committed grave human rights abuses including killing innocent people. That development cut short the plan to release Nnamdi Kanu’s parents.
”It was at this time that it was said the former DSS boss, Daura, came into the picture and told Nnamdi Kanu that he would have a new brief. He made it clear that his parents would be held while he would continue with a message of election boycott as the IPOB were canvassing.
Nnamdi Kanu was told in specific words that he was being recruited to propagate the election boycott in the South East and South South knowing that these regions will not vote for President Muhammadu Buhari.
It was Daura that decided to have Nnamdi Kanu released to be flown to Israel after a deal was reached. Nnamdi Kanu was removed from Bonny and taken to Enugu airport from where he was transported to Abuja and connected to Israel.
“This is why Nnamdi Kanu has been pushing for election boycott because he knows that this will affect Atiku Abubakar and Pater Obi so that Buhari will win. He has kept quiet about how he left the country, only saying that Biafra Intelligence took him away.
“He has not mentioned where his parents are and has been doing everything to make sure he keeps his own part of the deal which was to be on till after the elections.
“My source said that Nnamdi Kanu was told to act like he used to but when he did the Jibril taunt and it went viral he was reminded of the pact he had with the government that is why he lately took to Atiku.”
