By Nuel Suji – The Senator representing Abia South Senatorial District, Enyinnaya Abaribe has become jittery over the unknown whereabouts of the leader of the proscribed Indigenous People of Biafra (IPOB) Nnamdi Kanu even as the October 17 resumed hearing of the case of treason leveled against the IPOB leader approaches.
Mr. Abaribe was among the three sureties that signed the bail bond for the release of Mr. Kanu on April 25, on the condition that he would be produced in court whenever he is required.
Mr. Kanu and three others are facing trial on allegations of treason among others.
The presiding judge in the case, Binta Nyako, had ordered that Mr. Kanu be allowed to attend to his ailing health condition. The order required Mr. Kanu to produce three sureties with N100 million each.
But with his next court hearing coming up in October 17, the whereabout of Mr. Kanu could not be determined since September 14 when a combined team of security operatives invaded his house in Umuahia, the Abia State capital.
A reliable source in the Senate told our Correspondent that at the closed session held when Senate resumed in September, Mr. Abaribe lamented that he could not determine the location of the IPOB leader.
“He said he has been calling Nnamdi Kanu to hear from him after the invasion of his residence in Umahia, Abia State, but the guy has refused to respond to his series of calls,” the source said.
Mr. Abaribe however expressed his deepest fear recently in New York, United States when he told friends that those of them who signed the bail bond for the release of Mr. Kanu from detention are now in trouble.
He said: “I am a Nigerian Senator and not that of Biafra. We had advised Kanu, reminding him that his rights end where those of others begin. We are now in trouble, because we do not know where he is and how to contact him. Those that support Kanu’s agitation should think twice.”
The Senator also advised the people to be pragmatic and realistic in their demands, urging that “we should trust that our leaders, both elected and not elected can get the best for us.
“We think we need Biafra, but this Biafra should be that of the mind that represents our ingenuity and our innate quality for hard work and enterprise, especially as oil proceeds keep dwindling.
“Igbo are the largest and highest investors in the country, contributing to the development of wherever they reside and operate. In Lagos alone, we have built and developed about ten different markets from which over N3b are generated on daily basis.”
