Former Vice President Atiku Abubakar has backed calls for the immediate release of pro-Biafra activist and leader of the Indigenous People of Biafra (IPOB), Mazi Nnamdi Kanu.

Naijaonpoint reports that Kanu had been in the custody of the Department of State Security (DSS) since his extraordinary rendition from Kenya in 2021 under the Muhammadu Buhari administration.

Recently, the 2023 presidential candidate of the African Action Congress (AAC), Omoyele Sowore, challenged the former Labour Party (LP) presidential candidate, Peter Obi, Anambra State Governor, Charles Soludo, Abia State Governor, Alex Otti, Atiku and other South East leaders to join the march to Aso Rock, demanding the release of Kanu.

In a post shared on his Instagram page, Sowore urged South East leaders and politicians to stop empty noise and demand the release of Kanu.

Reacting in a post on his social media pages on Thursday, Atiku called on the Bola Ahmed Tinubu-led administration to release the IPOB leader immediately.

According to the former Vice President, defying court orders that granted him bail is an abuse of power and an assault on justice.

Atiku wrote: “The continued detention of Mazi Nnamdi Kanu remains an open sore on our nation’s conscience and a stain on our belief in the rule of law.

“Defying court orders that granted him bail is an abuse of power and an assault on justice.

“I, therefore, lend my voice in full support of the campaign led by Yele Sowore for his immediate release or due prosecution.

“We fail as patriots if we allow Kanu’s case to fester as yet another wound this nation refuses to heal.”