The Senior Special Assistant to the President on Community Engagement for the South-East, Mrs. Chioma Wesley, has stated that President Bola Tinubu will not intervene in the ongoing trial of the detained Indigenous People of Biafra (IPOB) leader, Nnamdi Kanu.
Wesley made the remarks on Monday while speaking to State House correspondents in Abuja, following a briefing to the President by her and three other presidential aides on regional engagement at Aso Rock Villa.
She emphasized that the matter remains before the courts and that the President, as a leader committed to the rule of law, would not make statements or take actions that could influence judicial proceedings.
“Nnamdi Kanu’s case is in court, and the President cannot make any pronouncement on it. He abides by the rule of law. So, for now, we wait for the court to make that decision,” she said.
Her comments come amid renewed calls, especially from groups in the South-East, urging the Federal Government to secure Kanu’s release. Kanu, who leads the proscribed IPOB, was first arrested in 2015, granted bail in 2017, and subsequently left the country following a military operation in his hometown, Afaraukwu, Abia State.
He was rearrested and returned to Nigeria in June 2021 and has remained in the custody of the Department of State Services (DSS). The Federal High Court is scheduled to deliver judgment in his ongoing terrorism trial on November 20, 2025, after Kanu reportedly refused for the sixth time to open his defence.
On her role, Wesley highlighted her office’s efforts to enhance engagement between the Presidency and South-East communities through a citizens’ assembly.
“We hit the ground running by setting up a citizens’ assembly where we can hear directly from the people about their concerns and expectations,” she said.
“Our goal is to take the President’s policies to the grassroots and ensure the people understand what the administration is doing for them.”
She added that the initiative focuses on collecting feedback from communities, describing it as the administration’s “greatest weapon” to connect the Presidency with citizens at the grassroots level.
