Bianca Ojukwu, widow of Biafra leader Chukwuemeka Odumegwu-Ojukwu, has called for the release of the detained leader of the Indigenous People of Biafra (IPOB) Nnamdi Kanu.
Ojukwu, former ambassador to Spain, spoke on Thursday at the annual conference of the American Veterans of Igbo Descent (AVID) in Charlotte, North Carolina, USA.
She said the release of Kanu would improve the security of southeast Nigeria.
“Once he (Kanu) is set free, the security situation in the southeast would greatly improve,” she said.
Ojukwu also called on Igbo people in the diaspora to continue to uphold and defend their core values, sense of identity and heritage.
She also called on governors of the southeast states to collaborate more effectively toward tackling insecurity.
“The state of insecurity in Igboland is posing an existential threat to life as we know it in our communities,” she emphasised.
The former ambassador decried the incessant killings, kidnappings and takeover of farmlands by armed herders and others.
According to her, these menaces have taken their toll on agro-economic and social activities in Igbo communities.
“Many people are leaving their villages out of fear and once thriving communities have become depleted and devitalised and in some cases assuming the status and appearance of ghost towns,” she said.
Other speakers at the occasion included Senator Eyinnaya Abaribe, former secretary to the government of Imo, Uche Onyeagocha; business mogul Kingson Njoku and Haitian Senator, Jean Moise.