The detained leader of the Indigenous People of Biafra (IPOB), Nnamdi Kanu, has appealed to United States President Donald Trump to launch an independent investigation into alleged killings of Christians and Igbo people in Nigeria’s South East.
In a letter dated November 6, 2025, and transmitted through his lawyer, Aloy Ejimakor, to the U.S. Embassy in Abuja, Kanu urged Trump to act on his recent statement that the U.S. was “prepared to act militarily and cut aid if Nigeria fails to protect its Christian population.”
Kanu, who remains in the custody of the Department of State Services (DSS), requested that Washington initiate a “U.S.-led inquiry into the situation of Judeo-Christians in Eastern Nigeria,” granting full access to evidence, witnesses, and survivor testimonies.
“I extend warm greetings to you in the name of the Judeo-Christian faith and values we both hold dear,” Kanu wrote. “Your bold declaration ignited hope in the hearts of millions who have been abandoned by the world.”
He alleged that Christians in Nigeria face what he termed “an existential threat,” citing reports from international human rights bodies. Kanu referenced a 2016 Amnesty International report claiming that at least 150 Christian worshippers were killed, as well as United Nations findings documenting similar attacks in the region.
Recounting his personal experience, Kanu noted that despite being discharged and acquitted by the Court of Appeal in October 2022, he remains in custody, a situation he described as “arbitrary, unlawful, and politically motivated,” quoting a UN Working Group report that labelled his detention a violation of due process.
Kanu also urged the U.S. Congress to hold emergency hearings on what he called the “Igbo Christian crisis” and to impose Magnitsky Act sanctions on individuals implicated in human rights violations. He further appealed for American support for “an internationally supervised referendum on self-determination for the Igbo people,” describing it as a peaceful route to lasting stability.
Concluding his letter, Kanu called on President Trump to intervene to prevent further bloodshed. “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 added, “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.”
