Extending an Olive Branch

Nigeria: Could amnesty for Nnamdi Kanu end Biafra agitations in the southeast?

By Akin Irede

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Posted on November 29, 2021 09:36

Nnamdi Kanu
Nnamdi Kanu (via Twitter/@BiafranTweets)

Despite facing terrorism charges, Nnamdi Kanu, who leads Nigeria’s most powerful secessionist groups, is now being considered for amnesty by President Muhammadu Buhari. But can this end the agitations?

In 2012, a little known activist, Nnamdi Kanu, gathered alongside other protesters in front of the Nigerian High Commission in London, to demonstrate against the killing of innocent civilians by terrorist organisation, Boko Haram.

Kanu said he was determined to ensure that Nigeria did not disintegrate and that it must be protected from evil forces.

In a viral video, he said: “We are protesting [over] the killing of families by people who are determined to tear the country apart and it is not something we support, it is not something we would like to see continue.

“If that continues, it will lead to a violent disintegration of the country; there will be no more Nigeria for anyone to go to. There will be no Nigeria for anyone to refer to. We cannot allow this nonsense to continue so something must be done.”

However, by mid 2013, Kanu’s views had changed drastically. His new mission was

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