Orji Kalu Says Over 30,000 Lives Lost To Separatist Agitations, Urges Political Solution To Nnamdi Kanu Crisis

Orji Uzor Kalu, senator representing Abia North, says separatist agitations linked to Nnamdi Kanu, leader of the Indigenous People of Biafra (IPOB), have claimed more than 30,000 lives and destroyed livelihoods across the south-east.

Kalu’s remarks follow last week’s judgment of a Federal High Court in Abuja, which sentenced Kanu to life imprisonment on terrorism-related charges.

Speaking on Sunday Politics on Channels Television, the former Abia governor said public discourse has focused largely on security casualties, while overlooking the civilian deaths and economic devastation suffered by ordinary people in the region.

“It’s not the time for noise-making or fighting. It’s a time for sober reflection,” he said. “We have to solve this problem holistically. Do you know that over 30,000 Igbos were killed? People who have shops lost their businesses. But people are just talking about soldiers killed and not the rest of them.”

Kalu urged political actors and Kanu’s supporters to avoid escalating tensions and instead pursue a political settlement with the federal government.

According to him, the theory advanced by Bianca Ojukwu and Mascot Uzor Kalu remains the best approach — dialogue, not confrontation.

“I have been working with the federal government on how to solve this issue,” he said.

‘Igbos Are Being Emotional’

Senator Kalu recounted how many families lost their means of livelihood during the unrest, citing the example of his late mother’s friend whose rice business was destroyed.

“My mother’s friend had a rice shop and owed my mother about N4.2 million. They ransacked her shop and she went bankrupt. Nobody talks about it,” he said.

“Let Igbos stop being emotional. I want us to settle down, go on our knees and find a way that the man can be released. It’s part of my job to do it.”

Kalu also recalled appealing to former President Muhammadu Buhari in 2017 to grant Kanu bail as a condition for his joining the All Progressives Congress (APC).

‘Omotosho Only Delivered the Law’

Kalu defended Justice James Omotosho, the judge who delivered the verdict against Kanu, saying criticisms of his ruling were misplaced.

“Nobody should question the decision of Justice Omotosho. If you are displeased, you go to the appellate court. It’s not to start insulting the man,” he said.

He faulted Kanu’s conduct in court, describing it as “unruly and unnecessarily aggressive”, and contrasted it with his own behaviour during his corruption trial.

“If you remember, I was given 12 years, but I never insulted the judge,” he said. “Justice Omotosho is just a messenger of the court. If you are displeased, you go to the appellate court.”

Justice Omotosho sentenced Kanu to life imprisonment on counts one, two, four, five and six, declining to impose the death penalty. He also handed down a 20-year term for membership of a proscribed organisation and five years for illegal importation of a radio communication device.

The court held that Kanu’s threats and sit-at-home orders amounted to terrorist acts under Nigerian law.