Umuahia — The family of the detained Leader of the Indigenous People of Biafra, IPOB, Mazi Nnamdi Kanu, has warned the leader of INRI Evangelical Spiritual Church, Primate Elijah Ayodele, to focus on his ministry and stop disparaging their son in the name of prophesy.
The warning is coming on the heels of Saturday's prophesy by Ayodele where he reportedly told Kanu to "beg the Nigerian government or die in jail.
Kanu's family spoke as the Association of Igbo Town Unions, ASITU, commended the recent decision by the South East governors to approach President Bola Tinubu to seek the release of Kanu and urged them to put more effort to actualise his freedom.
This is even as a former governorship aspirant in Anambra State, Dr. Chike Obidigbo, has advised politicians, especially those from the South-East, against compounding the travails of Nnamdi Kanu, arguing that their current postures might worsen his problems.
'Stop disparaging our son'
Primate Ayodele during the launch of his 30th "Warning to the Nations" at his church in Lagos, said: "Kanu should beg the government before he is released or else he will die in jail."
But piqued by the comment credited to the Primate, Kanu's family asked him to focus on his church and stop making provocative utterances against the IPOB leader under the guise of prophesy.
Kanu's younger brother, Kanunta Kanu, in a statement yesterday, told the Primate to "stop deceiving gullible minds with purported prophesies that have nothing to do with God."
He also told the cleric to focus on his calling and stop seeking relevance through misdirected and provocative comments on Kanu.
Kanu's family warned seers "to keep their visions to themselves" and stop using their son's name "to seek public attention and draw traffic."
Kanunta reminded the Primate that "God whose mouthpiece he is claiming to be is a God of justice who does not punish the innocent."
According to him, Kanu committed no crime but was unjustly incarcerated simply for demanding justice and fair treatment for his oppressed Biafra people.
"Ayodele should be courageous enough to tell the world what God said about the murderous invasion of our family home that resulted in the death of ou parents and the murder of 28 other innocent visitors to our home. The righteous God I know cannot count the masterminds of this atrocity guiltless and hold their victim accountable."
Put more efforts into ensuring Kanu's release, ASITU tells S-East govs
National President of ASITU, Emeka Diwe, noted that though the governors' decision to join the struggle to free the IPOB leader is belated, it will, however, enhance the long battle for his release by various groups and well-meaning individuals, both in Nigeria and overseas.
He stated that the story of the struggle for Kanu's release would have been different if the South East governors had joined ASITU earlier to lobby for his freedom.
Describing their decision to finally join the call f or Kanu's release as lofty and noble, ASITU charged the governors not to abandon the struggle until victory is achieved.
The Igbo group also commended members of the National Assembly who have joined the call to free the IPOB leader and urged the federal government to consider their appeal and act promptly to grant the request.
Igbo politicians worsening Kanu's problems
-- Chike Obidigbo
In a statement made available to reporters this weekend, Obidigbo said some Igbo political elite were going about the ongoing popular demand for the release of the embattled IPOB leader the wrong way, accusing overzealous politicians of acting out of ignorance and mostly for self-aggrandizement.
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According to him, the delicate nature of Kanu's incarceration requires quiet diplomacy to achieve a political solution, without politicizing the young man's release, the way some Igbo elites are going about it.
While identifying the salient complications around the IPOB leader's forceful rendition and consequent incarceration, the elder statesman said Britain's loud silence about Kanu's predicament also raises a large red flag.
His statement read:
"It is obvious that President Bola Tinubu is not entirely the one holding Nnamdi Kanu. It was not even former President Muhammadu Buhari or his erstwhile Attorney General of the Federation (AGF), Abubakar Malami. All the AGFs, including the current one, are mere legal officers for the government."
