Nigeria’s Minister of State for Foreign Affairs, Ambassador Bianca Odumegwu-Ojukwu, has said she is confident President Bola Tinubu will release Mazi Nnamdi Kanu, the embattled leader of the Indigenous People of Biafra (IPOB).

Bianca stated this on Tuesday, while speaking at the 13th memorial anniversary of the late Dim Chukwuemeka Odumegwu Ojukwu in Owerri.

She expressed her belief that President Tinubu understands the importance of Kanu’s release. She argued that freeing Kanu would expose criminal elements who have used his detention as a cover to perpetrate heinous crimes in the Southeast.

Delivering her remarks on the theme “Unifying the Igbo Race,” Bianca Ojukwu called for an end to the violence plaguing the Southeast, emphasizing that the Igbo people are not known for harming their own. She stressed the need for collective action to reclaim the region from criminality and insecurity.

“The release of Nnamdi Kanu is paramount to separating genuine freedom fighters from criminals causing mayhem in the Southeast. Our people face existential threats, and we must act to restore peace,” she said.

She lamented that, years after the passing of Dim Odumegwu Ojukwu, the Southeast has become a region marked by violence and insecurity, forcing many to flee their homes.

“Communities are empty. Our illustrious sons and daughters have fled. Kidnappers now abduct their brothers for ransom. This is not what Dim Ojukwu fought for,” she said.