Senator Orji Uzor Kalu (Abia North) has asserted that more than 30,000 people lost their lives and numerous businesses were destroyed across the South-East during years of agitation associated with the Indigenous People of Biafra (IPOB) and its leader, Nnamdi Kanu, who was recently convicted on terrorism charges.
Speaking during an appearance on Channels Television’s Politics Today on Sunday, the former governor of Abia State appealed for restraint, urging political leaders and the wider public to refrain from what he termed unnecessary agitation and instead pursue a political resolution for Kanu. He disclosed that he has been quietly lobbying the federal government toward that end.
Kalu argued that national discourse has focused disproportionately on confrontations involving security personnel, while the significant civilian casualties and economic devastation experienced by ordinary residents of the region have not received similar attention.
“This is not a time for noise or confrontation; it is a time for sober reflection,” he said. “Do you know that over 30,000 Igbo people were killed? Many lost their shops and livelihoods. People discuss only the soldiers, not the thousands of others. The issue of Nnamdi Kanu requires a political process.”
He recalled that countless traders were left bankrupt during the unrest, including a close family acquaintance whose rice business was looted, leaving her unable to repay a debt of ₦4.2 million.
Kalu reiterated that he has been working with federal authorities to secure a political settlement for Kanu, urging the Igbo community to adopt a more strategic and less emotional approach.
He further recounted his role in securing Kanu’s bail in 2017, stating that he had insisted on Kanu’s release as a condition for joining the All Progressives Congress in 2016.
According to him, senior government figures, including Mamman Daura and former Attorney-General Abubakar Malami, supported his efforts at the time.
Despite these interventions, Kalu expressed disappointment at the widespread destruction that followed, lamenting that the region had been pushed to the brink.
The senator also revealed that he resisted pressures from the Buhari administration to stop The Sun newspaper, owned by him, from publishing reports on Kanu, insisting that journalistic independence must be upheld.
Kalu defended Justice James Omotosho, who delivered last week’s judgment convicting Kanu on all seven terrorism-related charges.
He emphasized that court decisions must be respected and that those dissatisfied should seek redress through the appellate process rather than resort to personal attacks on judicial officers.
He criticised Kanu’s conduct during court proceedings, contrasting it with his own comportment during his corruption trial in which he was initially sentenced to 12 years’ imprisonment. He maintained that decorum must be upheld in all judicial settings.
Kanu was convicted by the Federal High Court in Abuja on charges stemming from killings of security personnel, destruction of infrastructure, the operations of Radio Biafra, and his issuance of sit-at-home directives, which the court ruled amounted to acts of terrorism under Nigerian law.
He received life imprisonment on several counts, 20 years for membership of a proscribed group, and five years for unlawful importation of a radio transmitter, all without the option of a fine.
