President Muhammadu Buhari on Thursday, ruled out a bail option for Nnamdi Kanu, the detained leader of the proscribed Indigenous People of Biafra (IPOB).
The president said Kanu’s continued detention is an opportunity for him “to justify all the uncomplimentary things said against Nigeria while he was in Britain.”
Buhari stated this at a bilateral meeting with the British Prime Minister, Boris Johnson, on the margins of the 26th Commonwealth Heads of Government Meeting in Kigali, Rwanda.
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According to a statement by his Special Adviser on Media and Publicity, Femi Adesina, the president said, the Federal Government may not grant the IPOB leader such a privilege anymore considering the fact that he had jumped bail earlier.
The statement was titled ‘Another term for me? No! The first person who tried it didn’t end very well.’
“He felt very safe in Britain and said awful things against Nigeria. We eventually got him when he stepped out of the United Kingdom, and we sent him to court. Let him defend all that he said there”
“His (Kanu’s) lawyers have access to him. Remember he jumped bail before, how are we sure he won’t do it again if he’s admitted to bail?”
On the keenness expressed by the PM to help Nigeria in the area of security, the President said helping to stabilise Libya could be an initial good step.
He said the fall of the former President of the country, Muammar Gaddafi unleashed armed guards who are “causing havoc everywhere, as the only thing they know how to do is to shoot guns”.
On Boko Haram insurgency, the president said there is a serious effort to educate the people on the fact that only an unserious person could kill innocent people and say Allah Akbar (God is Great).
“God is justice. You can’t take innocent souls, and ascribe it to God. The education process is working and the people now understand Boko Haram as anti-God, and not about religion,” he said.
The British PM, obviously unfamiliar with the maximum two-term limit, asked if Buhari would run for office again.
“Another term for me? No! The first person who tried it didn’t end very well,” Buhari said amidst general laughter.
PM Johnson said he was delighted about the good news on trade between the two countries, adding that the UK was further reducing tariffs on some goods going to Nigeria.
He described the relationship between the countries as “very strong attachment,” adding, “I just want to be sure that we are doing enough. It’s a massive partnership for us and we need to capitalise on it.”
Johnson also offered condolences on some recent attacks in Nigeria, particularly on churches.
