The lawmaker representing Abia North, Senator Orji Uzor Kalu, has stated that the secessionist agitations linked to the activities of the convicted leader of the Indigenous People of Biafra, Nnamdi Kanu, led to the death of over 30,000 people and widespread destruction of businesses across the South-East.
Kalu made this disclosure while featuring as a guest on Channels Televisionโs Politics Today on Sunday, speaking against the backdrop of Kanuโs recent conviction on terrorism charges.
The former Abia governor cautioned political actors and their supporters to shelve what he described as โnoise makingโ and instead pursue a political resolution to the crisis.
He argued that public discourse has been disproportionately focused on clashes involving security operatives while ignoring the mass casualties and business losses suffered by ordinary people across the region.
โI wouldnโt like to talk about this issue. Itโs not the time for noise-making or fighting. Itโs a time for sober reflection. We have to solve this problem holistically. Do you know that over 30,000 Igbos were killed? People who have shops lost their businesses,โ Kalu said.
He described the destruction as widespread and deeply personal, recalling traders who lost their livelihoods, including his late motherโs friend, whose rice business was wiped out during the unrest.
โMy motherโs friend had a rice shop. The woman who owed my mother about N4.2m. But they ransacked the old womanโs shops and she went bankrupt. Nobody talks about it,โ he lamented.
Kalu, who revealed he has been quietly engaging the Federal Government on a political settlement for Kanu, stressed that resolving the matter requires strategic dialogue rather than heightened emotions. โLet Igbos stop being emotional. I want us to settle down, go on our knees and find a way that a man can be released. Itโs part of my job to do it,โ he noted.
The senator further recounted his past interventions, including persuading the Buhari administration to grant Kanu bail in 2017.
โLet me take you to memory lane, when I wanted to join the APC in 2016, Late President Buhari, with his minister of justice, and the DSS found a way to support me because I told them I wouldnโt join the party if Kanu was not released on bail to face trial.
“(Of course) If you order people to kill others, you must face trial. But I wanted it to be in his house. But they wanted it to be in my house, I told them no because where I live is sensitive. So, I said release him to Umuahia. Alhaji Mamman Daura and Malami are alive. They all helped to make sure that he was released on bail. I know the pressure that I faced before his release in April 2017,โ he stated.
However, the former governor decried that despite all he went through to tame Kanu, he felt betrayed by the chains of reaction that almost brought the South-East to its knees.
He also defended Justice James Omotosho, who convicted Kanu earlier in the week, insisting that court judgments must be respected even when contested. โNobody should question the decision of Justice Omotosho. If you are displeased, you go to the appellate court. Itโs not to start insulting the man,โ Kalu argued.
He criticised Kanu for being โunruly and unnecessarily aggressive toward the judge,โ contrasting it with his own conduct during his corruption trial. โIf you remember, I was given 12 years (imprisonment), but I never insulted the judge. The other day, I saw the judge at the National Assembly when he came to be confirmed as a Supreme Court Justice. I embraced him and gave him all court seats. We must condemn certain behaviours. You cannot rant up in the competent jurisdiction. I take exception to it,โ Kalu said.
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