'If they've killed our son, please let's have his corpse'

The family of Nnamdi Kanu say they want the corpse of leader of the Indigenous People Of Biafra (IPOB) handed to them; if the army has ended his life as is being speculated in certain quarters.

The whereabouts of the separatist Kanu remain unknown, days after the army raided his apartment in Umuahia, Southeast Nigeria.

The raid that led to Kanu’s sudden disappearance occurred on September 14, 2017.

The federal government, the army and Kanu’s lawyer all say they have no idea where the eccentric Kanu is.

However, former Governor of Abia State, Orji Uzor Kalu--quoting an unnamed relative--says Kanu fled to London through Malaysia in the wake of the raid on his father’s compound in Afaraukwu, Umuahia, Abia State.

As speculation over Kanu’s whereabouts persists, his younger brother, Kingsley Kanu, 48, says even their parents may have been picked up by the army.

According to Reuters, the younger Kanu said; “They (soldiers) were shooting everything they saw.”

There were visible bullet holes on the windows and walls as Kingsley spoke, Reuters reports.

“They came here just to kill everybody,” he said, adding that around 20 IPOB members were shot dead but most of the bodies were taken by soldiers.

Kingsley also added that; “If they [the army] have killed him, let them give us the corpse”.

Reuters also quotes Kingsley as saying that his missing 82-year-old father and 67-year-old mother should be released if they are being held.

The army has denied keeping Kanu in some detention facility.

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Kanu’s IPOB has been proscribed by the federal government with its activities banned by Governors from the Southeast region.

Clashes between IPOB members and soldiers led to heightened tension in the Southeast days before Kanu’s sudden disappearance.

Kanu was arrested in 2015 as soon as he set foot in Nigeria from his UK base where he ran a hate spewing radio station.

The IPOB leader is due in court later this month to continue trial on charges bordering on treason and illegal possession of firearms.

The federal government has promised to arrest eminent leaders of society who signed Kanu’s bail bond if the separatist isn’t produced in court for prosecution on the next adjourned date.

Amongst Kanu’s sureties are serving Senator Eyinnaya Abaribe and a Jewish Priest.