Sowore Accuses Peter Obi Of Avoiding #FreeNnamdiKanuNow Protest Due To ‘Steal The Show’ Concerns

Human rights activist and former presidential candidate Omoyele Sowore said former Labour Party presidential candidate Peter Obi is distancing himself from the ongoing #FreeNnamdiKanuNow campaign due to concerns about who is leading it.

Speaking during an interview on Mic On, a programme anchored by journalist Seun Okinbaloye, Sowore said Obi’s decision not to participate in the protest stems from political calculation rather than principle.

Sowore said Obi doesn’t want to be part of the #FreeNnamdiKanu protest because his people feel it’s about who is leading it, adding that they believe it’s a ‘steal the show’ situation.

The activist said that anybody sensible would understand that where there’s injustice, one doesn’t look at who is fighting for a just cause; one should think about the cause itself.

Sowore also dismissed allegations that his activism was politically motivated or influenced by prominent politicians such as former Vice President Atiku Abubakar, former President Goodluck Jonathan, or Peter Obi.

He said that he is not working with Atiku, Jonathan, or Obi, emphasising that he has always fought for justice and democracy since his youth.

He added that if he were seeking political gains, he would not be advocating for someone like Nnamdi Kanu, noting that there are parts of the country where people do not want to hear his name.

The activist explained that he had reached out to several political leaders, including the Speaker of the House of Representatives, Tajudeen Abbas, Senator Enyinnaya Abaribe, and the Abia State House of Assembly, urging them to push for Kanu’s release.

Sowore said his advocacy is aimed at promoting justice and national healing, insisting that the continuous detention of the IPOB leader is unjustifiable.

He said he intends to bring justice to the matter and end what is clearly persecution, adding that the government can pardon drug dealers, murderers, and corrupt politicians, but cannot grant bail to someone against whom there is no real evidence. That is injustice.

Sowore further condemned what he described as Nigeria’s ongoing persecution of the Igbo people, saying the country “never truly ended the civil war against Biafrans.”

He maintained that freeing Nnamdi Kanu would help foster unity and reconciliation across the country.

Responding to whether he heard from the former Labour Party candidate, he said, "Well, Peter Obi interestingly never got back to me. I found out two days ago that he had responded somehow, and I think it was a measured response.

“He said, ‘Okay, you know, they shouldn't have arrested him.’ I think Peter Obi and his people feel like this is some kind of ‘steal the show,’ we don't want to be part of it kind of thing. But anybody who is sensible would understand that where there's injustice, you don't look at who is fighting for what is a just cause. You think about the cause.”

When asked about the perception that his campaign for Kanu’s release is for popularity and political gain, he said, "Well, you could ask what my real intention is? When I was fighting for democracy. I'm just also giving you a historical background that I've always been interested in the cause of justice since I was little, and there's nothing to gain.

“If you're looking for political gains, you don't go and fight for people like Nnamdi Kanu because there are parts of the country who don't want to hear that. There are parts of the country who love him.

“There are parts who hate him passionately because he threatens their real estate. He threatens them. It is not just a threat to Nigeria's unity; there's also a political hatred for him because, for instance, the southeastern political establishment sees him as a threat. They don't want to say it publicly, but they said it to me privately, and I'm not saying this is what they said. I reached out to the deputy speaker. I've spoken to him, I've spoken to a Abaribe.

“I've spoken to the Speaker of the House, I've spoken to him. I wanted him to convey a plenary, to make a declaration that this man should be released. I've spoken to a lot of people.

"I've spoken to members of the House of Assembly in Abia after they declared that they want to do a protest. You can't believe it. The moment we finished the conversation, they called me and said they are going to London and they don't know when they'll be back.

“So, we're supposed to choose a date together, but somehow, coincidentally, a trip to London. Maybe they were planning before then, I don't know. So I've tried to reach (Prof. Charles) Soludo, for instance. I know Soludo when he was a professor of practice in the US. I know Alex Otti personally. Alex used to work at First Bank, and he was in charge of Western Union, and we had a relationship in SaharaReporters with Western Union.

"Then, when he moved to become the GMD of a bank, I think we met once in the US, and then after he was no longer in banking, He switched to politics. He was a columnist for SaharaReporters, Alex Otti. Yes. So I know all these guys at one time or the other.

"My intention is to bring justice to the matter and to bring an end to what I clearly know is about justice in this case justice. It is for someone who is perpetually persecuted, for all of us to say enough is enough and I also believe that this will bring about national healing.

“You can see that part of the reason why the pardons granted to some people recently have to be reviewed is because of Nnamdi Kanu. This is because everybody is saying, ‘Oh, you can pardon drug dealers, you can pardon murderers, you can pardon people who are openly corrupt, but the person who you don't have any real evidence against, you can't even grant him an opportunity to return home or grant him bail.

He condemned ethnic profiling and persecution based on ethnic background, asserting that the country has never fully reconciled after the civil war against the Biafrans.

"So now they're saying that, ‘Oh, the pardon was a mistake.’ It was because suddenly everybody is talking seriously about what is happening in the southeast, and I hate ethnic profiling,” he said.

“I hate persecution of people based on their ethnic backgrounds, and I have openly spoken about it, that I feel like Nigeria never ended the civil war against Biafrans.”

Background

SaharaReporters reported on Monday, October 13, that Sowore had commenced mobilisation for the planned October 20 #FreeNnamdiKanu march protest at the Presidential Villa, demanding the immediate and unconditional release of the detained IPOB leader.

Sowore, on Thursday, October 9, announced October 20 as the date for a protest march to the Presidential Villa (Aso Rock), Abuja, to demand the release of Kanu.

On Tuesday, October 7, Sowore called on political leaders and other stakeholders from the South-East region to join him in a peaceful march to the Presidential Villa, Abuja, to demand the immediate release of the IPOB leader.

In a post on his X (formerly Twitter) account, Sowore had written, “I will set aside my differences with some politicians for one cause.

“I challenge every politician or person of good conscience from the Southeast who says they want Nnamdi Kanu released to stop the rhetoric. Time for action is NOW. Let’s march to the Aso Rock Villa.”

Sowore urged prominent figures from the region, including governors, lawmakers, traditional and religious leaders, to take concrete steps beyond verbal support for Kanu’s release.

He specifically tagged Anambra State Governor Chukwuma Soludo, Senator Enyinnaya Abaribe, Abia State Governor Alex Otti, and former Labour Party presidential candidate Peter Obi, challenging them to join in the protest.

Sowore stressed that the march would be peaceful and lawful, aimed at demanding justice and an end to what he described as the persecution of Nnamdi Kanu.

Since the renewed campaign for Kanu’s release, the movement has attracted broad support, including from Abia State lawmakers, former Vice-President Atiku Abubakar, MASSOB founder Chief Ralph Uwazuruike, and Kanu’s special counsel, Barrister Aloy Ejimakor.