Former presidential candidate, Omoyele Sowore, has alleged that the continued detention of Nnamdi Kanu, leader of the Indigenous People of Biafra (IPOB), is largely due to his refusal to accept certain conditions that were allegedly accepted by Yoruba nation agitator Sunday Igboho.
Sowore made the claim while comparing the political approaches of the two separatist figures and their relationship with the administration of President Bola Tinubu.
According to him, Kanu remains in detention because he rejected the same terms that Igboho allegedly agreed to.
“Nnamdi Kanu is in jail today because he’s different from Sunday Igboho. If Kanu were like Sunday Igboho, he would be campaigning for President Tinubu in the Southeast now,” Sowore said.
He further claimed that the Nigerian government had presented similar conditions to both agitators over the years, but Kanu rejected them.
“Because it’s the same terms they gave to Igboho that he accepted and Kanu rejected over the last 10 years,” he said.
Sowore also spoke about a recent interaction he had with Kanu, noting that the meeting strengthened his belief that the two men cannot be compared.
“I don’t know what he will do tomorrow, but the Kanu I went to campaign for in Aba last week—it will be heresy to compare the two of them,” he stated.
The activist also criticised what he described as a pattern of transactional politics in some parts of the country.
“As for Igboho, who I don’t know too well, I have always stated that their own brand of politics is what I call Amala politics in Oyo State; it’s politics of ‘chop I chop,’” he said.
Sowore warned that Igboho could eventually face political disgrace if he continues along what he described as the same path taken by controversial political figures in Nigeria’s past.
He referenced former politician Arthur Nzeribe, who strongly backed the political ambitions of former military ruler Ibrahim Babangida, as well as Daniel Kanu, who supported former Head of State Sani Abacha.
“But what Igboho is going to realize is that he’s going to be in the hall of infamy like the Nzeribes of this world,” Sowore said.
He added that the Yoruba nation agitator risks damaging his legacy if he continues on the same political path.
“If he was ever relevant, Igboho just retired himself into the infamy of the people I mentioned, and his own might be worse because the world community might be coming for him very soon,” Sowore added.
