Former Senate Minority Leader, Senator Enyinnaya Abaribe, has described the life sentence handed to Mazi Nnamdi Kanu for terrorism as a long-anticipated plot against the IPOB leader.

In a statement issued in Abuja by his media adviser, Uchenna Awom, Abaribe said the ruling did not come as a surprise to the Igbo nation or many concerned Nigerians. He argued that the federal government’s refusal to extend amnesty to Kanu while granting similar concessions to other groups made the outcome predictable.

“Is it not an irony that negotiations and peace deals with rampaging terrorists in the North East and North West were gleefully initiated by local, state and federal authorities, just like the amnesty to ex-militants in the South South, who were rewarded with lucrative oil pipeline contracts. This is to say that justice in Nigeria is not for the South East,” Abaribe said.

He added that the Igbo nation had long anticipated such an outcome. “So we are not surprised. Our people can only endure and hope for a time when justice in Nigeria would become the sine qua non. We have done our best, we have variously made the case for the authorities to be circumspect and at least accede to pardon for the sake of unity and inclusiveness.”

Abaribe appealed to the Igbo people and supporters of national unity to remain calm. “We ask the Igbo nation and other lovers of Nigeria to remain calm, pray and not take the law into their hands,” he said.

“May Nigeria succeed, thrive and advance in justice, equity and fairness,” he added.