‘The primary cause of my mother’s death was Operation Python Dance 2’ —Nnamdi Kanu

Leader of the proscribed Indigenous People of Biafra (IPOB), Nnamdi Kanu, has accused the military of being responsible for his mother’s death.

He said the invasion of his family home by the army worsened his mother’s ill health.

Kanu also set fresh terms for a dialogue with the Nigerian government on the Biafra agitation.

Kanu said he would be open for dialogue if the federal government would consider a referendum on the self-determination for the Biafran people.

This was contained in a statement signed by IPOB’s Media and Publicity Secretary, Emma Powerful.

In the statement, Kanu also spoke on his mother’s death alleging that the military invasion of his home in 2017 had caused his mother to suffer heart complications.

The statement read: “If a Nigerian government was willing to talk honestly and openly about our demands and to consider a referendum on self-determination for the Biafran people, in a neutral space provided by the United Nations, I would be there at the table.

“Look around Africa today. There are some countries with a functioning democracy, where the rule of law is respected and free and fair elections allowed. But not Nigeria, our struggle for self-determination is the struggle of Africa’s post-colonisation from Algeria to the Cape. If we can achieve this, perhaps we can lead other African countries to bring democracy and respect for law and human rights into the lives of African peoples,” the statement read.

Kanu explained that he wanted a neutral venue, because of the invasion of his home in Umuahia in 2017 by the Nigerian Army.

READ ALSO: Nnamdi Kanu needs no permission from Aso Rock ‘cabal’ to return to Nigeria ―IPOB

“The men (soldiers) who came to my family home in September 2017 came to kill me. I do not doubt this. If they wanted to arrest me or question me, they would have sent the police or agents of the DSS. Why send soldiers trained to kill, if not to kill? I had wanted my day in court in 2017, but the military response tells me that the rule of law in Nigeria has collapsed.

“The attack took its toll on my parents. My mother suffered heart complications as a result of the trauma and stress of the Nigerian army’s invasion of my house. She became very ill and died earlier this year. It would not be an overstatement to say that the primary cause of my mother’s death was Operation Python Dance 2.

“I have lost a mother. My father, a strong man, a chief among Biafrans, has lost his life’s companion. Sadly, we have watched his health decline since the attack on our home and my mother’s death.

“I mourn my mother. I mourn my entire IPOB family member who had given their lives to protect mine,” he added.

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