Nnamdi Kanu did not betray anybody by accepting bail - Femi Fani-Kayode

- The former minister of aviation Femi Fani-Kayode has said that the leader of the Indigenous People of Biafra (IPOB) did not betray anyone by accepting the bail granted to him

- Fani-Kayode Kanu is the symbol of the struggle for Biafra and needed to fight from outside the confine of a prison

- He also congratulated the IPOB leader for meeting his bail conditions .

The former minister of aviation Femi Fani-Kayode has said that the leader of the Indigenous People of Biafra (IPOB) Nnamdi Kanu did not betray anyone by accepting the bail granted to him by a Federal High Court in Abuja. Fani-Kayode  while speaking to NAIJ.com on Sunday, May 1, after meeting with Kanu in his Abuja residence said those calling for the IPOB leader's head do not understand the enormity of his struggle. The former minister said: "The system doesn't work like that, if he rejected bail, he would have played right into the hands of his enemies. There is absolutely no point for him to stay there, holding four people down."

He said being outside the confines of the prison will give Kanu the opportunity to mobilize and legally fight his cause. "Now one of them managed to get out, now he can call and agitate, fight to ensure through his legal team I mean and mobilize other lawyers to ensure that others get bail and come out," Fami Kayode said. Fani-Kayode said he believes that Kanu's co-accused who were refused bail would either appeal the ruling of the court or make fresh applications for their bail.

"Those that say he betrayed anybody by leaving the others there simply do not understand or cannot comprehend the enormity of these issues. "It is a much bigger issue than just Nnamdi Kanu and any of the people who have been locked up. You are talking of the lives of millions of people in this country about the very foundation of our nation.

"And the question is how do you define Nigeria, he wants to redefine Nigeria, he wants to create his own country and that its lawful within the confines of the law of self-determination. It is an internally guaranteed law. If he decides to say, "I will wait to till everyone gets bail," then that's not leadership. The former minister said leadership entails doing things one may not be too happy or comfortable to do. He noted that as the symbol of the struggle for Biafra, Kanu needed to be out of Kuje Prison. "He had to come out because he is the symbol of the struggle, I am sure his colleagues i there are happy he is out," he said. Further congratulating the IPOB leader on his release, the Fani-Kayode said the federal government never did Kanu a favour by granting him bail.

He said: "I am delighted that he is released and I won't thank anybody for that, nobody did him a favour, he had the right to that bail and he is not the sort of man that is going to run away." I am happy he got the bail, I thank God for his (Kanu's) resilience because it is not easy to spend almost two years fighting to get your bail," he said.

Stringent bail conditions for Nnamdi Kanu

Also speaking on condemnation that the bail conditions meted to Kanu were stringent, Fani-Kayode said the important thing is that the IPOB leader was able to meet his bail. He said it is also encouraging that people were prepared to stand for Kanu even in the most difficult times. "The fact is that while the bail conditions were difficult, he met them. That is most important thing and people were prepared to stand up for him to ensure that he got out. Again it goes to show you how much good will, how much affection people have for him and again goes to show you that he has become a formidable force in this country; which nobody can deny. Again, I commend him for the fact that he could meet those bail conditions and not just meeting them but meeting them so quickly," Fani-Kayode added. Also on the need for the judiciary to in standing for justice rather than turning against the people, Fani-Kayode said: "Well, I am reluctant to criticize the judiciary." Because I know that they really do their very best despite the difficult circumstances that they are working in, as far as I am aware, they are doing their very best.

I also know that on different occasion they have given court orders that the executive have simply refused to abide to abide by those orders, so, they are operating in a very difficult conditions.

I am a great fan of the judiciary and I can only commend them and the fact that the judge gave Nnamdi Kanu bail is one I consider to be a lot of opposition for the various quarters. I must commend her courage for that goes to show you that the judiciary is alive and they are prepared to do the right thing. Now that he is released Fani-Kayode said: "I expect him to continue to do what I believe he was ordained by God to do which is to fight for the interest of his people and to do his very best to secure the best deal for the South-East in which ever way that he can." I don't except him to stop doing that but at the end of the they are his choices to make. I sincerely hope and believe anyway that he will rise to the occasion, that he will carry that enormous mantle that God has placed upon his shoulder," he noted.

The former minister however said, he believes God has ordained Kanu to play a key role in the affairs of the people of South-East and South-South. "And I will say it again, this man as far as I am concerned is the Ojukwu, Azikiwe, Nzeogwu, all that into one.. And he also has a strong intellectual flair which is very profound. I discussed at length with him, even when we were in Kuje together and today we had a three our discussion.. he (Kanu) is very very profound and that is very refreshing. He said while they are profound leaders from the South-East, only few will voice their opinion on critical national issues. Nnamdi Kanu has refused to be intimidated, he has stood up for what he believes and that is commendable. I also look at the fact that over a thousand of his people, I mean the IPOB have been killed in cold blood by security agencies over the last two years. I am certain that he will not dishonour their memories by turning his back on the cause.