Grant Nnamdi Kanu state pardon to write your name in gold – APC chieftain tells Tinubu

A chieftain of the All Progressives Congress (APC) and Director General of the party’s Digital Force, Ikeagwuonwu Klinsmann, has appealed to President Bola Ahmed Tinubu to grant a state pardon to the detained leader of the Indigenous People of Biafra (IPOB), Nnamdi Kanu, describing such a move as a historic step toward national unity and reconciliation.

Speaking in a statement from Stockholm, Sweden, on Tuesday, Klinsmann said releasing Kanu would reflect Tinubu’s “politics of compassion and inclusiveness” and cement his legacy as a leader committed to healing Nigeria’s ethnic divisions.

“At a time when Nigeria is navigating sensitive political and ethnic fault lines, the release of Mazi Nnamdi Kanu would represent a bold step toward healing the scars of division and restoring confidence among the people of the South-East,” Klinsmann said.

He praised the President’s recent pardons granted to several political detainees and convicts, describing them as proof of Tinubu’s “magnanimity and statesmanship.”

Klinsmann also recalled his earlier appeal to the President, made shortly after the death of Pope Francis, urging Tinubu to seize the moment as a “divine window for reconciliation” by freeing Kanu in honour of the Pope’s legacy of mercy and forgiveness.

The APC chieftain further referenced judicial pronouncements questioning the legality of Kanu’s continued detention, stressing that the President could invoke his constitutional powers under Section 175 of the 1999 Constitution to pardon him.

“Releasing Nnamdi Kanu through a state pardon will not be an act of weakness but of visionary leadership. It will calm tensions in the South-East, revitalise trade in cities like Onitsha, Aba, and Enugu, and restore investor confidence in the region,” Klinsmann added.

He urged President Tinubu to take the bold step, saying history would remember him as the leader who chose peace and unity over political division.