The Director-General of the All Progressives Congress (APC) Digital Force, Pharmacist Ikeagwuonwu Chinedu Klinsmann, has appealed to President Bola Ahmed Tinubu to grant a state pardon to the detained leader of the Indigenous People of Biafra (IPOB), Mazi Nnamdi Kanu.
In a statement released from Stockholm, Sweden, on Tuesday, Klinsmann described President Tinubu as “a leader with a heart of gold,” whose politics is built on “compassion, inclusiveness, and national unity.”
He said that releasing Kanu would demonstrate statesmanship and strengthen the President’s vision of healing divisions across Nigeria.
“At a time when Nigeria is navigating sensitive political and ethnic fault lines, the release of Mazi Nnamdi Kanu would be a bold step toward healing old wounds and restoring confidence among the people of the South-East,” Klinsmann said.
He noted that Tinubu’s recent pardons of several convicts and political detainees had already reflected his magnanimity and leadership spirit.
“The same mercy that inspired those pardons should be extended to Mazi Nnamdi Kanu. A state pardon for him would send a clear message that this administration stands for peace, unity, and dialogue above all else.
“The time for action has not passed; it has only become more pressing,” he stated.
He also referenced court pronouncements questioning the legality of Kanu’s continued detention and called on the President to exercise his constitutional powers under Section 175 of the 1999 Constitution.
“Releasing Nnamdi Kanu through a state pardon would not be an act of weakness but one of visionary leadership. It would calm tensions in the South-East, revive trade in cities such as Onitsha, Aba, and Enugu, and restore investor confidence in the region,” Klinsmann said.
The APC chieftain further appealed to the National Association of Nigerian Students (NANS) and activist Omoyele Sowore to suspend their planned protest to Aso Rock, warning that such actions could be hijacked by criminal elements.