Detained leader of the Indigenous People of Biafra (IPOB), Mazi Nnamdi Kanu, has written to the President of the United States, Donald Trump, alleging that a genocide is being carried out against Judeo-Christians in Nigeria’s South-East region.
In a letter released on Thursday by his lawyer, Alloy Ejimakor, Kanu urged the U.S. government to intervene, support an internationally supervised referendum on self-determination for the Igbo people, and impose sanctions on Nigerian officials allegedly involved in human rights violations.
Kanu, who described himself as a “Prisoner of Conscience” and a “four-time survivor of state assassination attempts,” claimed his ongoing terrorism-related trial in Nigeria was politically motivated. He alleged that his extraordinary rendition from Kenya in 2021 violated international law, citing a Kenyan court ruling that condemned the act.
“The Nigerian government continues to defy its own judiciary and international obligations by detaining me unlawfully,” Kanu wrote, referencing a 2022 Court of Appeal judgment that discharged and acquitted him of all charges and ordered his release.
The IPOB leader accused the Nigerian military of complicity in attacks on Christian communities in the South-East and parts of Benue, Kogi, and Delta States. He cited operations such as “Python Dance,” which he claimed resulted in the killing of many Christians, and accused former Chief of Army Staff, Lt-Gen. Tukur Buratai (rtd), of overseeing such operations.
“This is state-sponsored impunity on a genocidal scale,” Kanu alleged, describing his movement as a “peaceful, non-violent civil rights group rooted in Judeo-Christian values.”
Commending Trump’s recent statement warning Nigeria to protect its Christian population or face U.S. sanctions, Kanu called for “a U.S.-led independent inquiry into state-sponsored massacres in Eastern Nigeria” and the enforcement of the Global Magnitsky Act against implicated officials, including Buratai and the Director-General of the Department of State Services, Yusuf Bichi.
“You have seen the truth: Christians in Nigeria face an existential threat,” Kanu wrote. “This genocide has spread into the Igbo heartland, where Judeo-Christians are being systematically exterminated under the guise of counter-terrorism.”
He urged the U.S. Congress to hold hearings on the “Igbo Christian genocide” and reiterated IPOB’s commitment to peace, justice, and non-violence.
“I remain steadfast in faith and non-violence, even from a prison cell,” Kanu added. “We seek only justice, truth, and freedom. History will judge us by what we do when genocide knocks.”
Kanu’s letter follows Trump’s recent remarks in which the U.S. leader warned of possible action against Nigeria if Christian persecution persists.
