The detained leader of the Indigenous People of Biafra (IPOB), Nnamdi Kanu, has written to United States President Donald Trump, urging him to initiate an independent investigation into what he described as the “killings of Christians and Igbo people” in Nigeria’s South East region.
In a letter dated November 6, 2025, and transmitted through his lawyer, Aloy Ejimakor, to the US Embassy in Abuja, Kanu—who remains in the custody of the Department of State Services (DSS)—appealed to Trump to act on his recent statement that the United States was “prepared to act militarily and cut aid if Nigeria fails to protect its Christian population.”
According to the letter, seen by our correspondent, Kanu called on Trump to “launch a US-led independent inquiry into the situation of Judeo-Christians in Eastern Nigeria, with full access to relevant evidence and survivor testimonies.”
“I extend warm greetings to you in the name of the Judeo-Christian faith and values we both hold dear,” the letter read. “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 alleged that Christians in Nigeria were facing persecution and urged Trump to draw global attention to their plight.
“You have seen the truth: Christians in Nigeria face an existential threat. I write to you now to reveal that this challenge affects the Igbo heartland, where Judeo-Christians continue to suffer hardship,” he stated.
The IPOB leader cited several reports by international human rights organisations as evidence of widespread atrocities, referencing incidents reportedly documented by Amnesty International and UN Special Rapporteur Agnès Callamard.
“Amnesty International (2016) reported at least 150 peaceful Christian worshippers killed, bodies dumped in rivers,” the letter continued. “UN Special Rapporteur Agnès Callamard confirmed that at least 60 were killed and over 70 injured in St. Edmund’s Catholic Church during prayers. 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 also reflected on his own experiences since 2015, including his ongoing detention and legal battles. He reminded Trump that although the Court of Appeal discharged and acquitted him in October 2022, he has not been released.
“I was never released, so there was no re-arrest—only continued unlawful imprisonment in blatant violation of constitutionally protected double jeopardy safeguards,” Kanu said.
Citing a report by the UN Working Group on Arbitrary Detention, he described his imprisonment as “arbitrary, unlawful, and politically motivated,” adding that it represented “a state capture of the rule of law to silence a Judeo-Christian voice.”
Kanu renewed his call for a US-led independent inquiry into the situation in Eastern Nigeria, with “full access to mass graves, military logs, and survivor testimonies.” He also appealed for emergency congressional hearings on what he called the “Igbo Christian crisis” and urged the US government to consider Magnitsky Act sanctions against specific Nigerian officials.
In the letter, Kanu further requested American support 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.”
The IPOB leader concluded by reaffirming his commitment to peace and justice, invoking moral responsibility and divine guidance.
“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,” he wrote.
“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.”
