Lai Mohammed says Nnamdi Kanu is a distraction that should be ignored

The Minister of Information and Culture, Lai Mohammed, has described the re-emergence of the leader of the Indigenous People of Biafra (IPOB), Nnamdi Kanu, as a distraction to the country.

Kanu had not been seen in public since an alleged attack on his father's compound by soldiers on September 14, 2017, until he was pictured praying at the Wailing Wall of Jerusalem, Israel, on Friday, October 19, 2018.

Since his re-emergence, Kanu has addressed his followers and vowed to return to the country to lead a boycott against the 2019 general elections.

"I will be back soon in the land of Biafra and I will bring hell with me. IPOB will liberate Biafra and we will not take part in any elections until we get a referendum, it is not negotiable, we will do it by any means," he said.

In the time between Kanu's mysterious disappearance and resurrection in Israel, IPOB had relentlessly alleged that he was in the custody of the government who was illegally holding him.

Lai Mohammed ece-auto-gen

With the government apparently now vindicated, Mohammed believes the IPOB leader is only a distraction to the country. While addressing the topic of Kanu's re-emergence during an interview on AIT on Wednesday, October 24, Mohammed said Nigeria has more pressing issues.

He said, "This is the same man that was claimed to be held by the military and I remember at the height of this saga, some many people wanted to hold the federal government responsible for the whereabouts of Nnamdi Kanu.

"I remember saying that the military did not kidnap him, he wasn't killed. All these are just distractions frankly speaking. I don't think it's something we should dwell too much on. There are other pressing issues of the nation we should discuss.

"No government will waste too much energy or effort. I think the government will be making sure that the country is safe."

In an earlier reaction to Kanu's threat to bring hell with him to the country, President Muhammadu Buhari's Senior Special Assistant on Media and Publicity, Garba Shehu, said there is no reason to worry about the wanted IPOB leader.

He said, "The Presidency wishes to restate that Nigeria under President Muhammadu Buhari is strong enough to defend its territory against any threat, assuring all Nigerians that there is no reason to worry about the hollow outburst by Nnamdi Kanu, the disputed leader of IPOB on returning to the country 'with hell'.

Instead, we see the re-enactment of his bizarre, episodic threat as a mere distraction which will not be allowed to detract from the existing cordial relationships between Nigeria and other countries."

Kanu's troubles with the Nigerian government started when he was arrested by the Department of State Security (DSS) in 2015 and spent two years in custody until he was granted bail on health grounds in April 2017.