Leader of the Indigenous People of Biafra (IPOB), Mazi Nnamdi Kanu, has petitioned world powers and international bodies, seeking urgent intervention over what he described as his unlawful detention by the Nigerian government.
Kanu, who has remained in custody since June 2021, addressed letters to U.S. President Donald Trump, the African Union (AU), Amnesty International, the European Union, ECOWAS Court, and over a dozen other countries, including the United Kingdom, Canada, Germany, France, South Africa, Israel, and Japan.
According to him, his continuous detention is in violation of both Nigerian and international law.
He maintained that he is a “captive of the Nigerian State,” insisting that the Supreme Court’s December 15, 2023 ruling, which reversed his earlier acquittal, was unconstitutional.
Kanu recalled that the Court of Appeal had, on October 13, 2022, discharged and acquitted him, declaring his extraordinary rendition from Kenya illegal.
However, he lamented that the same court allegedly issued an “illegal stay of execution” on October 28, 2022, which paved the way for his extended incarceration.
“This decision is a barbaric and illegal act, wholly unknown to criminal law jurisprudence anywhere in the world,” Kanu said.
“It constitutes constitutional criminality of the highest order, exhibiting a shocking lack of fidelity to the Nigerian Constitution.”
The IPOB leader also alleged that he was held between October 2022 and December 2023 without charges, in clear breach of Section 35 of the Nigerian Constitution and international conventions, including the African Charter and the International Covenant on Civil and Political Rights.
Kanu urged global leaders to pressure Nigeria to comply with constitutional provisions and past judicial rulings.
“I respectfully request urgent intervention: demanding that Nigeria comply with Abacha v. State and Ejiofor v. FRN by enforcing the Court of Appeal’s discharge retroactively to October 13, 2022, nullifying my arbitrary detention, declaring the October 28, 2022 stay illegal, and securing my immediate release,” he stated.
He described his detention as persecution sustained through judicial manipulation, warning that his life remained at risk.
The IPOB leader also faulted the United Kingdom, accusing it of complicity in his prolonged ordeal despite his status as a British citizen.
According to him, the UK’s silence has emboldened Nigeria’s government to continue holding him.
Furthermore, Kanu accused the Nigerian judiciary of “reckless lawlessness and political bias,” adding that the African Commission on Human and Peoples’ Rights had already documented cases of systemic discrimination against IPOB.
Kanu emphasized that international action was the only way to restore justice in his case.
He argued that his continued detention goes beyond personal freedom, representing a broader disregard for the rule of law in Nigeria.
“My case is not only about me,” he noted. “It is about defending constitutional order, human rights, and democratic principles.”
