Mr. Ifeanyi Ejiofor, lawyer to the leader of the proscribed Indigenous People of Biafra (IPOB), Nnamdi Kanu, said yesterday that the Biafra agitator is alive and will address his supporters today direct from Jerusalem, Israel.
Ejiofor, who had previously accused the Nigerian Army of abducting Kanu during the September 2017 invasion of his residence in Umuahia, said the video showing him praying in Israel 13 months after he disappeared was authentic.
Former Aviation Minister, Mr. Femi Fani -Kayode who claimed recently that his intelligence sources told him that Kanu was being detained aboard a Nigerian Navy vessel off the coast, also made a dramatic u-turn yesterday, saying Kanu had called him by phone saying he is โalive and well.โ
Ejiofor, in a statement, said, โThis morning (yesterday), I received a direct confirmation from my client, hearing once from him after 13 months in captivity.
โI am very delighted therefore, to use this singular opportunity to announce to the world that my client is the very person seen in the pictures /video. That I can confirm authoritatively.
โFurthermore, the shocking tale of how he made it alive once again will be made public in his scheduled world press broadcast to be beamed live within the next 24 hours.
โThe world will now hear from the horseโs mouth, the gory accounts of what happened in my clientโs home on the 14th day of September 2017, only tomorrow (today).โ
Kanu to partner with us in removing Buhari โ Fani-Kayode
On his part, Fani-Kayode said on Twitter yesterday that he โjust received a call from my brother Nnamdi Kanu.
โI am delighted that he is alive and well. I commend his strength and courage even as I marvel at the loyalty, resilience and commitment of his lawyer, Ifeanyi Ejiofor and IPOB. We have agreed to work together to VOTE Buhari out.โ
Mixed reactions trail public appearance
There were mixed reactions yesterday in the commercial city of Aba, Abia State, to the Thursday public appearance of Nnamdi Kanu in Jerusalem, Israel.
The issue was the subject of discussion in areas such as Power line, Ariaria, Cemetery, Shopping Centre, St Michaelโs road, Pound road and other parts of Aba.
While some people said they were happy that he is alive after all, others expressed disappointment that Kanu and his associates took the people for a ride, by claiming that he was killed during the September 2017 incident when indeed he went into hiding.
One Chukwuemeka Okoroafor said that the video and pictures of Kanu praying in Israel is a reassurance that the โmarch to freedom is not yet over.โ
A security analyst who does not want to be named said: โWe knew that Kanu was alive.
โWe knew that he escaped during the army raid on his fatherโs home. We probed and from inside sources in the military, we were reliably told that Kanu indeed escaped.
โThis video and pictures have vindicated former Governor of Abia State Orji Uzor Kalu who had earlier stated that Kanu was in the United Kingdom.
โI have, since yesterday, been asking why IPOB would now order people to stay away from business in honour of a man that they said was missing when they know that he is still alive. I pity those that died and those that are still going to die for this man.โ
