Olisa Agbakoba said Kanu should not have been charged with treason
He said the federal government should only have charged Kanu with management of an unlawful assembly
The former president of the Nigerian Bar Association Olisa Agbakoba on Tuesday, July 4, accused President Muhammadu Buhari of making a mistake in the arrest of the leader of the Indigenous People of Biafra (IPOB) Nnamdi Kanu.
Agbakoba while addressing journalists in Lagos on the future of Nigeria said the treason charge against Kanu by the federal government elevated his agitation.
Agbakoba said Kanu should not have been charged with treason at all.
Also rejecting the call for restructuring of Nigeria, Agabkoba said there should be a referendum to determine the fate of Biafra.
Citing Article (12) of the United Nations Charter and Article 20 (1) of the African Charter of Human and Peoples Rights to which Nigeria is a signatory to, the senior lawyer said he supports self-determination.
Agbakoba said: “I see every politician now says restructure but I disagree. I also think the acting President was wrong to say that Nigeria is insoluble.”
“There is nothing sacrosanct about Nigeria. It can blow up anytime. It’s an artificial creation, which was made in 1914 and when it was amalgamated we were not there. It was amalgamated in the interest of the colonialists,” Agbakoba said.
He said the federal government should have charged with an unlawful assembly and act of breaching public peace in Nigeria.
“Those are the things he can be charged with, but not treason; because Nigeria is a signatory to the United Nations’ Charter, which recognizes the right for self-determination,” he said.
NAIJ.com earlier reported that Agbakoba said Nigeria needs to find a new federal system.
The senior lawyer advised President Buhari to propose a bill to set up a small committee on national order.
Agbakoba said the order will help proffer solution in various regions within the country.
Courtesy: NAIJ
