The detained leader of the Indigenous People of Biafra (IPOB), Mazi Nnamdi Kanu, has written an open letter to former U.S. President Donald Trump, alleging what he described as a “hidden genocide” being perpetrated against Judeo-Christians in Nigeria’s South-East.
Ahead of his scheduled court appearance before the Federal High Court in Abuja, Kanu accused the Nigerian government of orchestrating military operations that target Christian communities under the guise of fighting terrorism. In the four-page letter personally signed by him and released by his lawyer, Aloy Ejimakor, Kanu said his continued detention was politically motivated, describing himself as a “prisoner of conscience” and “four-time survivor of state assassination attempts.”
He reiterated his claim of being abducted from Kenya in June 2021 in what he termed an “extraordinary rendition” that violated both Kenyan and international law — a case he said was condemned by a Kenyan High Court.
“The Nigerian military itself is the primary perpetrator, shielded by a false narrative that blames victims,” Kanu wrote, alleging that extremist-linked groups such as Boko Haram, ISWAP, and Fulani militias operate with state complicity in parts of the South-East and other Igbo-speaking territories. He also cited “Operation Python Dance,” which he claimed resulted in the killing of many Christians in the region, while accusing former Army Chief Lt.-Gen. Tukur Buratai of overseeing those operations. Kanu referenced the Court of Appeal judgment of October 2022, which discharged and acquitted him of all charges, declaring his detention illegal and unconstitutional. Despite the ruling, he said he remains unlawfully held in solitary confinement.
He also noted that the UN Working Group on Arbitrary Detention (Opinion No. 25/2022) found his imprisonment “arbitrary, unlawful, and politically motivated.” “This is not justice. This is state capture of the rule of law to silence a Judeo-Christian voice,” he stated.
