Hundreds of residents in Afarukwu, Abia State — the ancestral home of Nnamdi Kanu, the detained leader of the Indigenous People of Biafra (IPOB) — staged a peaceful demonstration calling on the Federal Government to secure his immediate release.
The rally, which drew men and women across various age groups, featured participants dressed in traditional attire, headgear, and red caps. Protesters marched along community roads chanting solidarity songs in Igbo: “Nnamdi Kanu bu onyendu anyi, onyendu ka anyi na-eso,” translated as “Nnamdi Kanu is our leader, and he is the man we follow.” A prominent banner carried by the procession bore the crest of the group and the inscription: “IPOB Abia State Chapter Declares the Only IPOB Supreme Leader and Director of Radio Biafra: Onyendu Mazi Nnamdi Okwu Kanu.” The banner depicted Kanu in full royal regalia, holding a royal staff in his capacity as a prince of the Afarukwu kingdom. Traditional leaders and community members led the procession through local streets.
Video footage of the event was shared on social media by Kanu’s special counsel, Alloy Ejimakor, who accompanied the visuals with a direct appeal to political leadership in the region. Ejimakor urged South-East governors to prevail on President Bola Tinubu to pursue a political resolution to the prolonged legal crisis. “Despite the unjust conviction, this matter was political from day one,” he stated, arguing that an out-of-court settlement is necessary to maintain stability across the region.
Kanu has spent over five years in custody. He was recently convicted and sentenced to life imprisonment by Justice James Omotosho of the Federal High Court in Abuja on terrorism-related charges. The verdict is currently being challenged at the Court of Appeal. Since the judgment, the IPOB leader has been held at the Sokoto Correctional Centre operated by the Nigerian Correctional Service.
The conviction remains a flashpoint for legal practitioners and human rights advocates in the South-East. Prior to the Federal High Court ruling, a High Court sitting in Enugu had declared the initial proscription of IPOB as a terrorist organisation by the administration of former President Muhammadu Buhari unconstitutional, null, and void. That court ruled the executive order violated fundamental rights guaranteed under the 1999 Constitution as amended. Despite that decision nullifying the group’s designation, federal prosecutors maintained terrorism charges against Kanu, eventually securing the conviction in Abuja.
As the appellate process unfolds, community leaders and civil rights groups in Abia State continue to press the Tinubu administration to opt for a political solution, viewing it as the most viable path to de-escalating tensions and restoring lasting peace in the South-East.
