Swiss Embassy Denies Kanu's Brother Visa to Meet UN Over IPOB Leader's Whereabouts

Switzerland Embassy in Nigeria has allegedly denied younger brother of Nnamdi Kanu, the leader of Indigenous People of Biafra (IPOB), Prince Emmanuel Kanu, entry visa to the country.

The younger Kanu, it was gathered was invited to Switzerland by the United Nations for interrogation over the continued disappearance of his elder brother, Nnamdi and his parents, since September last year, when soldiers invaded their residence in, Afaraukwu, Umuahia, Abia State.

A statement by the group, signed by its Media and Publicity Secretary, Mr Emma Powerful, berated the Swiss embassy for denying him visa, saying that the younger Kanu recently returned from US, where he was cleared to travel, but failed to exhaust the duration assigned him by the US government.

The statement said those that were usually denied visa were people who could fail to return back to the country if allowed to travel, and that the younger Kalu does not fall in the category.

The group said the visit was even more important, considering that it was a visit that had to do with the life of its leader and his parents, who have been missing since last year.

It said that it would be forced to count Switzerland as a country that promotes mass murder if Prince Kanu missed the opportunity of telling the UN the story of the disappearance of his family members, especially considering that many members of the group had been killed in the September, 2017 invasion.

Part of the release read, "The United Nations office  invited the Kanu family to meet them in Switzerland to ascertain what truly transpired during  the massacre of the 14th of September 2017 at Isiama Afaraukwu during Operation Python Dance 2.

"This ugly episode necessitated the enforced disappearance of our leader Mazi Nnamdi Kanu, his aged parents and other family members of IPOB since last year. It is important we state clearly that our leader's whereabouts is still unknown since that very invasion.

"If the United Nations have chosen to invite surviving members of the family to a meeting in Geneva to ascertain the facts, why is the Swiss embassy stopping it?"

The group further added that "A copy of the UN letter inviting Prince Emmanuel Kanu and the rest of the family to the event in Geneva is in the possession of the Swiss embassy, so why the reluctance to issue the entry visa if not for political considerations. 

"Should the Swiss government allow this travesty to subsist, IPOB will have no option than to regard it as an accessory to mass murder and promoter of human rights abuses in Africa."