ABUJA—Ahead of his scheduled case before the Federal High Court, in Abuja, today, the detained leader of the Indigenous People of Biafra, IPoB, Mazi Nnamdi Kanu, has sent a letter to the President of the United States of America, Donald Trump, alleging a hidden genocide against Judeo-Christians in the South-Eastern part of the country.
Kanu claims his terrorism-related trial is politically motivated and urges U.S. support for a supervised referendum on self-determination in Nigeria, emphasising his backing of potential U.S. action.
Describing himself as a “Prisoner of Conscience” and a “four-time survivor of state assassination attempts,” the embattled IPOB leader bemoaned how he was forcibly abducted from Kenya, in an extraordinary rendition operation he said violated international laws.
He further alleged that extremist-backed forces like “Boko Haram, ISWAP, and Fulani militias,” which President Trump condemned, operate with “state complicity in the South-East and Igbo speaking territories of Benue, Kogi, and Delta.
“But here, the Nigerian military itself is the primary perpetrator, shielded by a false narrative that blames victims,” Kanu added.
Kanu listed military actions like ‘Operation Python Dance,’ which he said killed many Christians, and accused ex-Army Chief Tukur Buratai of orchestrating these acts, claiming Buratai”s ambassadorial role shielded him from international prosecution.
“This is state-sponsored impunity on a genocidal scale,” he insisted.
The letter, which he personally signed and addressed to President Trump, read in part: “I extend warm greetings to you in the name of the Judeo-Christian faith and values we both hold dear. As a practicing Jew and a believer in the Judeo-Christian heritage that shaped Western civilization, I was honoured to attend your campaign event in Des Moines, Iowa, in January 2020.
“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-has ignited hope in the hearts of millions who have been abandoned by the world.
“You have seen the truth: Christians in Nigeria face an existential threat. I write to you now to reveal that this genocide is not confined to the North-it has metastasized into the Igbo heartland, where Judeo-Christians are being systematically exterminated under the guise of counter-terrorism.
“I am Mazi Nnamdi Okwu Kanu, Leader of the Indigenous People of Biafra (IPOB), a peaceful, non-violent civil rights movement rooted in Judeo-Christian principles. Since 2015, I have survived four documented assassination attempts by the Nigerian state.
“On 20 June 2021, I was forcibly abducted from Kenya in an extraordinary rendition operation-an act that violated Kenyan and international law, as condemned by a Kenyan High Court ruling (Petition No. E282 of 2021).
“Despite this ruling, I was illegally transported to Nigeria and thrown into solitary detention in Abuja, without a valid subsisting charge and for the sole crime of defending my people’s right to life, faith, and self-determination under international law.
“On 13 October 2022, the Court of Appeal in Abuja (CA/ABJICR/625/2022) discharged and acquitted me of all charges, ruling that my rendition was illegal, unconstitutional, and a gross violation of international law.
“The court ordered my immediate and unconditional release. Yet I remain in solitary detention-over 1,596 days since my abduction. The Nigerian government defied its own judiciary, refusing to release me as ordered. I was never released, so there was no re-arrest-only continued unlawful imprisonment in blatant violation of constitutionally protected double jeopardy safeguards under Section 36(9) of the 1999 Constitution and Article 7(2) of the African Charter.
“The UN Working Group on Arbitrary Detention (Opinion No. 25/2022) declared my continued 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.”
As part of his recommendations, Kanu said: “A Call to You, President Trump. You said America will act. Now is the moment. I respectfully urge you to:
“Launch a U.S.-led independent inquiry into state-sponsored massacres of Judeo-Christians in Eastern Nigeria, with full access to mass graves, military logs, and survivor testimonies.
“Convene emergency Congressional hearings on the Igbo Christian genocide.
“Impose targeted Magnitsky Act sanctions on: Lt-Gen. Tukur Buratai (Ambassador, Benin), current DSS Director-General Yusuf Bichi, and South-East military commanders implicated in Obigbo.
“Support an internationally-supervised referendum on self-determination for the Igbo people-the only peaceful path to ending this cycle of violence, as affirmed by the African Charter on Human and Peoples’ Rights (Article 20).
“Mr. President, history will judge us by what we do when genocide knocks. You have the power to stop a second Rwanda in Africa. One tweet, one sanction, one inquiry could save millions.
“I remain steadfast in peace, faith, and non-violence-even from a prison cell. IPOB rejects every form of violence. We seek only justice, truth, and freedom.
“May the God of Abraham, Isaac, and Jacob-who delivered Israel from Pharaoh-grant you wisdom and courage to deliver His people once again,” Kanu added in the four-page letter that was shared by his lawyer, Alloy Ejimakor, on Thursday.
VANGUARD.
