The legal team representing detained IPOB leader Nnamdi Kanu has faulted comments allegedly made by Chigozie Nnabugwu calling on the Federal Government to kill their client, describing the remarks as dangerous, unlawful and an incitement to violence.
Nnabugwu reportedly made the statement during a live television interview on Monday, claiming that the South-East would regain peace if Kanu was killed.
“If Nnamdi Kanu is dead today, if the Government of Nigeria will kill Nnamdi Kanu, trust me, normalcy will start coming, and that’s what every Igbo man prays for,” he reportedly said.
He also reportedly noted that addressing the root causes of insecurity remained necessary for lasting stability in the region.
The remarks sparked outrage on social media, with many Nigerians insisting that Kanu’s case should be determined through the judicial process rather than calls for his death.
Reacting in a statement issued on Tuesday, Kanu’s Special Counsel, Aloy Ejimakor, condemned the comments and demanded that Nnabugwu publicly retract the statement, while also calling on the television station to apologise.
“Mazi Nnamdi Kanu’s legal team hereby strongly condemns the statement made by one Mr. Chigozie Nnabugwu… in which he publicly urged the Government of Nigeria to kill our client for ‘normalcy to return to the Southeast,'” the statement read.
Ejimakor described the remarks as reckless and irresponsible, warning that they amounted to a call for extrajudicial killing and posed a direct threat to Kanu’s life.
He further argued that the comments could violate Section 24(1) of the Cybercrimes Act, which criminalises electronic communications that threaten lives or are capable of causing a breakdown of law and order.
According to the lawyer, anyone found guilty under the provision risks a fine of up to ₦7 million, imprisonment for up to three years, or both. He added that the statement could also attract further criminal liability under the Criminal Code for alleged incitement and related offences.
