The South-East religious leaders under the umbrella of Coalition of Concerned Igbo Religious Leaders, have accused successive Nigerian authorities, the British government and political leaders, especially governors in the region of deploying a decades-long propaganda strategy to suppress Igbo aspirations.
The coalition, which comprises Christian, traditional and Interfaith leaders, alleged that the treatment of the Eastern Security Network (ESN), the armed wing of the Indigenous People of Biafra (IPOB), mirrors the distortion of the 1967 Aburi Accord that preceded the Nigerian Civil War.
In a public statement titled "From Aburi to ESN: The Same Twisted Playbook and the Problem Within Igbo Ranks," and signed by Rev. Tony Uzor Anthony, on behalf of the Coalition, the clerics alleged the Nigerian government, the British government, and South-East governors and political leaders demonised ESN to keep IPOB leader, Nnamdi Kanu in prison.
The religious leaders called for the unconditional release of Kanu, insisting that his life imprisonment was politically motivated.
The religious leaders, who identified themselves as bishops, pastors, priests and custodians of Igbo traditional spirituality across the South-East region, said they were speaking "not from partisan politics but from the moral and spiritual duty to defend truth, protect our people, and confront the recurring betrayal that has long plagued the Igbo nation."
