Kanu Writes Trump, Urges Inquiry Into Alleged Killings in South-East

The detained leader of the Indigenous People of Biafra (IPOB), Nnamdi Kanu, has written to US President Donald Trump, urging Washington to initiate an independent investigation into the “killings of Christians and Igbo people” in Nigeria’s Southeast.

In a letter dated November 6, 2025, transmitted through his lawyer Aloy Ejimakor to the U.S. Embassy in Abuja, Kanu — who remains in the custody of the Department of State Services (DSS) — appealed to Trump to follow through on his recent warning that the United States would “act militarily and cut aid if Nigeria fails to protect its Christian population.”

According to the letter obtained by reporters, Kanu called on Trump to “launch a U.S.-led independent inquiry into the situation of Judeo-Christians in Eastern Nigeria, with full access to relevant evidence and survivor testimonies.”

“Your bold declaration on October 31, 2025, that the United States is prepared to act militarily and cut aid if Nigeria fails to protect its Christian population ignited hope in the hearts of millions who have been abandoned by the world,” Kanu wrote.
“Christians in Nigeria face an existential threat. I write to reveal that this challenge affects the Igbo heartland, where Judeo-Christians continue to suffer hardship.”

The IPOB leader referenced several reports by international human rights organisations to back his claims, citing a 2016 Amnesty International report that documented the killings of peaceful Christian worshippers in southeastern Nigeria. He also referred to findings by UN Special Rapporteur Agnès Callamard, who reportedly confirmed the deaths of 60 worshippers during a church attack.

“This was not a clash. It was a massacre of worshippers commemorating their fallen. In Aba, 22 were killed on-site, and 13 bodies were exhumed from a borrow pit. Children were executed for singing ‘Sweet Jesus,’” Kanu wrote.

Kanu, who has been detained since 2021 despite a Court of Appeal judgment discharging and acquitting him in October 2022, described his ongoing detention as unlawful and politically motivated.

“I was never released, so there was no re-arrest — only continued unlawful imprisonment in blatant violation of constitutionally protected double jeopardy safeguards,” he stated.

Citing a report by the UN Working Group on Arbitrary Detention, Kanu said his continued imprisonment amounted to “a state capture of the rule of law to silence a Judeo-Christian voice.”

He also urged the U.S. Congress to hold emergency hearings on what he called the “Igbo Christian crisis” and to consider Magnitsky Act sanctions against individuals allegedly involved in human rights violations.

In the letter, Kanu reiterated his call for “an internationally supervised referendum on self-determination for the Igbo people,” describing it as “the only peaceful path to ending this circle of violence.”

“Mr President, history will judge us by what we do when genocide knocks,” he wrote. “You have the power to stop a second Rwanda in Africa. One tweet, one sanction, one inquiry could save millions.”

He concluded by reaffirming his commitment to peace and justice, saying:

“We seek only justice, truth, and freedom, even from a prison cell. May the God of Abraham, Isaac, and Jacob grant you wisdom and courage to deliver His people once again.”