The head of Inri Evangelical Spiritual Church, with headquarters in Lagos, Primate Elijah Ayodele, has warned the Buhari administration over the arrest of Kanu saying the President was not elected to arrest people who disagree with his government.
Ayodele who made the statement while speaking with Tribune, said while Buhari keeps going after certain individuals whom he sees as threat to his government, there is a terrorist in his cabinet and a cleric who seems to know more about bandits than the Nigerian government itself.
He said if the Buhari government fails to handle the arrest and prosecution of Kanu property, Nigeria may be crippled completely by insecurity.
He said, “the Federal Government should not celebrate the re-arrest of Nnamdi Kanu. This is not the solution to Nigeria’s many problems. The government must be proactive in doing something that would justify the mandate given them by the people.
"If care is not taken, Kanu’s re-arrest will look like the El-Zakzaky’s conundrum. IPOB will begin protests. The government must do what is right so that the re-arrest of Kanu will not trouble Nigeria. Kanu should not be addressed as terrorist.
"We have seen a terrorist in the president’s cabinet; we have seen an Islamic cleric who plays mediatory role between terrorists/bandits/kidnappers and the government. Nigeria is going through a lot. President Buhari is not taking Nigeria to the next level.”
The Buhari government also sent security agents to arrest Sunday Igboho who is among those from the southwest, demanding for Yoruba Nation.
Following the raiding of Igboho's home by the DSS, security forces were also sent to disrupt Yoruba Nation rally held in Lagos State, where a 14 year old girl lost her life to a stray bullet.
Reacting to the crackdown, Chief Ladi Rotimi-Williams, a Senior Advocate of Nigeria, said the use of force by the Buhari government cannot stop an idea whose time has come.
He said, “The people who have braved the rain and other dangers asking for separation are the masses. They are from the grassroots and it has become a movement; an idea whose time has come. Cracking down on them won’t work. Government should have dialogue. Nigeria isn’t the only country going through this. There are other countries going through the same problems.
“The people were not consulted whether they wanted this artificial entity called Nigeria. We have endured for too long. They should not treat us like alien forces by cracking down on the protesters. These are people whose future is in play. Where we are now is not about political party. It is a movement that concerns everyone.
“For President Buhari, there is a limit he can go and as a God-fearing Muslim, he won’t want more deaths and I don’t think he would want to use force for the remaining two years of his presidency against those agitating. You can’t force your wife to be with you. These people are saying they don’t want to be together again. We saw them, saying so.
“The security apparatus has failed to protect us as Nigerians. Maybe if restructuring is in process, we won’t be here today. Let everybody develop at their own pace and the name Nigeria should change. It was given to us by somebody’ girlfriend.
“The president should approach it as a father having problem with his son. Nigeria is like an empire disintegrating. Arresting Igboho won’t solve the problem because he is one man. The people have tried, staying in for this long. Give them what they want and there would be peace. The people are right to protest. The people want freedom.”