A member of Nigeria’s House of Representatives, Obi Aguocha, has said that the rules governing Igbos appear to differ from those applied to other ethnic groups in the country.
Aguocha, who represents Ikwuano/Umuahia North/Umuahia South Federal Constituency of Abia State, made the statement during an interview on Arise Television on Sunday.
Speaking about the continued detention of the Indigenous People of Biafra (IPOB) leader, Nnamdi Kanu, Aguocha questioned why the government had granted clemency to convicted criminals while Kanu remained in custody.
“In the administration of criminal justice in Nigeria, an Igbo man faces a host of challenges that other tribes do not experience,” Aguocha said. “In a recent series of pardons, President Tinubu granted clemency to drug lords and murderers, yet Nnamdi Kanu, who has committed no offence, has endured dehumanisation for ten years.”
The lawmaker urged Igbos across Nigeria and beyond to raise their voices peacefully in protest against what he described as injustice and double standards in the country’s legal system.
“I firmly believe that we must all raise our voices, even if it means doing so through peaceful protests,” he said.
Aguocha’s comments come amid growing calls from some groups in the South-East for the federal government to release Kanu, who has been in detention since 2021 despite multiple court rulings ordering his release.
The federal government has maintained that Kanu’s case involves serious national security concerns. However, human rights groups have repeatedly criticised his continued detention, describing it as politically motivated and unlawful.