Leader of the Indigenous People of Biafra (IPOB), Mazi Nnamdi Kanu, has accused the Federal Government and sections of the judiciary of perpetuating what he described as “serial executive and judicial fraud” to keep him in detention since his rendition from Kenya in 2021.
In an open letter to Nigerians on Monday, Kanu detailed a series of alleged legal manipulations, including what he called the unlawful proscription of IPOB and disregard for multiple court rulings in his favour.
Kanu recalled that a Federal High Court in Abuja had ruled in March 2017 that IPOB was not an unlawful organisation — a decision he said the government sidestepped instead of appealing. He further alleged that the group’s subsequent proscription through an ex parte order was “fraudulently obtained.”
He cited additional judgments, including the October 2022 Court of Appeal ruling that declared his rendition from Kenya unlawful, and the Supreme Court’s December 2023 decision which, he said, criticised the revocation of his bail and ordered a retrial.
“Despite the clarity of these judgments, the Federal Government continues to hold me unlawfully,” Kanu wrote. “The courts have connived with the executive to perpetuate injustice in clear violation of the Constitution.”
He added that his continued detention demonstrated a deliberate effort to deny him a fair hearing and suppress the broader self-determination movement.
Kanu’s letter comes amid renewed public calls for his release.
Media entrepreneur and Ovation Magazine publisher, Dele Momodu, in a post on his X (formerly Twitter) account on Tuesday, linked the resurgence of the Biafra movement to longstanding socio-political marginalisation in the South-East.
“Shortly before his abduction from Kenya, Mazi Nnamdi Kanu made a thought-provoking broadcast explaining why he and his followers became radicalised,” Momodu wrote. “The agitation for Biafra was rekindled by decades of neglect and deprivation suffered by the Igbo.”
He criticised attempts to silence or eliminate Kanu, saying such actions would not resolve the underlying issues.
“Any sensible government will keep the geniuses of the South-East busy with productive engagement, not hatred,” he added, calling for dialogue and political reform rather than repression.
Kanu remains in custody facing charges of terrorism and incitement to violence.
