Thepresidential candidate of Nigeria Democratic Congress (NDC), Peter Obi, has said that there is no reason for Nnamdi Kanu, leader of the Indigenous Peoples of Biafra (IPOB), to be in prison.
Obi spoke recently when he visited some Nigerians in Washington DC, United States.
The presidential candidate of Labour Party in the 2023 general election, said no one should be arrested for speaking on radio, adding that it does not make sense.
He said as a politician, people usually call him names and that he does not see that as an offence.
Obi said if elected president, he will engage with all agitators to understand their grievances and seek ways to resolve them.
“I have said this repeatedly, there is no reason for keeping (in prison) Nnamdi Kanu. As far as I’m concerned, there’s no reason whatsoever,” he said.
“You cannot arrest somebody because he was speaking on radio and calling people names. It doesn’t make sense. Anybody can tell you anything. I’m a politician. People call me all sorts of names.
“I don’t think calling me names is an offence. It is not an offence.
“If I’m in government today, I will discuss with all agitators. I will engage with them. I will consult with them.
“Because I believe that they have a reason for whatever they want to do. It’s only by engaging them that we’ll learn and see how we can solve it.”
Speaking further, Obi said elections are rigged in Nigeria because Nigerians want it to be rigged.
The former Anambra governor added that elections cannot be rigged if Nigerians stay in their polling units after voting to protect their votes.
Recall that in November 2025, James Omotosho, a judge at the federal high court in Abuja, sentenced Kanu to life imprisonment for terrorism charges.
Kanu was handed life imprisonment for counts one, four, five and six of a seven-count charges.
The IPOB leader got 20 years and five years’ imprisonment on counts three and seven, respectively.
During the court proceedings, a DSS officer claimed that the IPOB leader admitted during interrogation to inciting Nigerians to launch attacks on police officers.
Another DSS officer had linked the violence that trailed the #EndSARS protest to the inciting comments by Kanu.
