The Indigenous People of Biafra (IPOB) has criticised what it described as “shameful” public appeals by some South-East leaders for President Bola Tinubu to pardon its detained leader, Nnamdi Kanu.
IPOB insisted that such requests undermine the rule of law and misrepresent the facts of Kanu’s case.
In a statement issued on Tuesday by Media and Publicity Secretary, Emma Powerful, IPOB condemned recent comments by former Lagos lawmaker Jude Idimogu, who reportedly urged Tinubu to release Kanu as a political gesture to boost the All Progressives Congress (APC) ahead of the 2027 elections and to revitalise the South-East region’s economy.
IPOB described the plea as “self-serving opportunism and betrayal,” arguing that it portrays Kanu as guilty despite multiple court rulings in his favour.
“Let us be unequivocally clear: Mazi Nnamdi Kanu is not a criminal in need of pardon. He is a prisoner of conscience, unlawfully abducted from Kenya on June 27, 2021, in blatant violation of Kenyan sovereignty, Nigeria’s Extradition Act 2004, and international treaties,” Powerful stated.
According to IPOB, both Kenyan and Nigerian courts have addressed the circumstances of Kanu’s detention.
Powerful cited a Kenyan High Court ruling declaring Kanu’s arrest illegal, and an October 13, 2022 judgment of the Nigerian Court of Appeal, which discharged Kanu and held that no Nigerian court had jurisdiction to try him due to his extraordinary rendition.
The group argued that the appellate court’s decision amounts to a final acquittal under Nigerian law.
IPOB dismissed the Supreme Court’s December 15, 2023, decision remitting the case for trial as a “nullity,” saying it contravened Section 36(9) of the 1999 Constitution, which prohibits double jeopardy.
The group argued that the charges against Kanu were based on repealed laws, the Terrorism Prevention Acts of 2011 and 2013, without any legal provision to save them, citing A.G. Federation v. A.G. Abia State (2002) and Okeke v. State (2019).
IPOB described Kanu’s ongoing trial before Justice James Omotosho at the Federal High Court, Abuja, as “void ab initio for lacking jurisdiction.”
IPOB warned that continued appeals for presidential intervention “reinforce dictatorship and autocracy,” while signalling “weakness to our oppressors.”
“Begging Tinubu reinforces dictatorship and autocracy, portraying Nigeria as a lawless fiefdom where executive whims trump judicial finality,” Powerful stated.
“It signals weakness to our oppressors, implying Kanu is guilty when the law has exonerated him.
“IPOB warns all well-meaning individuals, Igbo leaders, and the public: Cease this degrading pleading immediately. It does not bode well for the rule of law; it smacks of complicity in state-sponsored terrorism and judicial banditry.”
The group urged the people of the South-East, Nigerians, and the international community to “amplify this demand” through protests, legal measures, and global advocacy.
“Those who continue begging will be seen as enablers of oppression, history will judge you harshly,” Powerful said.
Kanu, who faces terrorism-related charges, was first arrested in 2015 and granted bail in 2017 before leaving Nigeria.
He was rearrested in 2021 under circumstances that human rights activists and groups have widely criticised.
