Human rights advocate and former presidential candidate of the African Action Congress (AAC), Omoyele Sowore, has criticized the continued detention of the leader of the Indigenous People of Biafra (IPOB), Mazi Nnamdi Kanu, describing it as a threat to justice and national unity.
Speaking in Akure, the Ondo State capital, Sowore said that “equality, fairness and justice are panacea for national unity.”
He argued that Nigeria cannot claim to be one nation while some citizens are treated as inferior.
The activist condemned what he called “systemic hypocrisy” in the country’s governance, adding that no nation built on oppression and inequality can achieve genuine unity.
He said, “We cannot have unity without justice. We cannot say we need unity when some people are treated as superior and others as inferior. We cannot have unity in a country where someone’s business is demolished simply because the government dislikes his ethnicity.”
Sowore further stated, “We cannot have unity in a country where terrorists are treated better than freedom fighters. I am talking directly about Mazi Nnamdi Kanu and others who struggle for the freedom of their people.”
He reminded Nigerians that the country was a colonial creation and urged leaders to treat every citizen with equal respect if unity must be sustained.
“There is no crime in demanding justice or self-determination. Nigeria was not created by Nigerians, but by the British. So, if we must continue as one nation, we must respect everyone who calls himself a Nigerian,” he said.
On Kanu’s case, Sowore faulted the Federal Government for detaining him for more than five years without a clear explanation of his alleged offences.
He insisted that prolonged detention without trial amounts to abuse of human rights.
Sowore said, “We cannot keep a man in prison using legal technicalities to justify injustice. What is his crime? For five years, nobody can define it. That is why I have been at the forefront of the Free Nnamdi Kanu Movement.”
He clarified that his advocacy for Kanu’s release is not politically motivated.
“I’m not doing it for politics. In fact, if I wanted to play politics, I wouldn’t be defending someone many in power consider an enemy. But I am not that kind of politician. I stand for justice, truth, and fairness,” Sowore said.
The activist also accused Nigerian politicians of ignoring citizens’ grievances until they face international pressure.
He urged leaders to act with conscience and embrace justice as the only foundation for lasting peace and unity.