Nnamdi Kanu, not in our custody - Nigeria Defense HQ says

The Defence Headquarters (DHQ) says that the leader of the proscribed Indigenous People of Biafra (IPOB) Nnamdi Kanu was not in any military custody. The Director Defence Information, (DDI) Major General John Enenche, addressed a press conference in Abuja yesterday where he denied allegations made by Kanu's brother, Emmanuel, at a press conference in Umuahia recently, where the younger Kanu called on the Military to release the corpse of the secessionist group leader if they have killed him. He alleged that since the military's "invasion" of his brother's house on September 14th, Nnamdi and his parents have gone missing. Read here.

Speaking on the alleged "abduction" of Kanu by the military, the Army spokesperson said

“It is not the responsibility of DHQ to declare Nnamdi Kanu wanted. Nnamdi Kanu is not in the custody of the military. Nobody raided Kanu’s home and I stand to be justified not from the information I got. I was watching it live, was monitoring it live, speaking with them on the ground. I think I later confirmed that there was nothing to actually justify the legality of IPOB members mounting roadblocks. I saw the militancy, nobody told me and I saw the actions there. We are still investigating. The military did not proscribe IPOB. Due process was followed to proscribe them. The job of the military was to diagnose security issues and warned the public of consequences and that is part of our media operations. We did our operations very well otherwise that weekend would have been the longest weekend in this country and we are also very careful in choosing our words and we know the law very well.” he said

Reacting to the Army spokespersons statement that Kanu is not in their custody, counsel to the IPOB leader, Ifeanyi Ejioffor, insisted that their leader is with the military and that they must produce him.

“We are not moved by the press statement. The military doesn’t need to issue press statement, it is better to come to court and say so. Let them come and tell Nigerians where they kept Kanu. They are the ones that raided his house. Nigerians know the truth,” Ejioffor said.