Former President of the Nigerian Bar Association, Dr. Olisa Agbakoba (SAN), has said that the President Muhammadu Buhari administration made a mistake by charging leader of the Indigenous People of Biafra (IPOB), Nnamdi Kanu, with treason.
Agbakoba stated this while addressing journalists in Lagos on Tuesday on “The future of Nigeria.”
He rejected the call fo restructuring Nigeria and agreed with the call for referendum made by Kanu.
The legal luminary pointed out that Article 1 (2) of the United Nations Charter and Article 20 (1) of the African Charter of Human and Peoples Rights which Nigeria is a signatory to, supports self-determination.
“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.
Agbakoba added that Kanu shouldn’t have been charged with treason.
“For me, the best that he can be charged with is unlawful assembly and an act capable of breaching public peace.
“Those are the things he can be charged with, but not treason; because Nigeria is a signatory to the United Nations’ Charter, which recognises the right for self-determination,” he said.
