The detained leader of the Indigenous People of Biafra (IPOB), Nnamdi Kanu, has written to United States President Donald Trump, calling for 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 delivered through his lawyer, Aloy Ejimakor, to the U.S Embassy in Abuja, Kanu urged Trump to act on his recent declaration that Washington was prepared to intervene militarily and suspend aid to Nigeria if the government failed to protect its Christian population.
According to a copy of the letter obtained by DAILY GAZETTE, Kanu appealed to the U.S. to “launch an independent inquiry into the condition of Judeo-Christians in Eastern Nigeria, granting investigators full access to relevant evidence and survivor testimonies.”
Kanu opened the letter with warm greetings, expressing gratitude for Trump’s October 31 statement, which, he said, “ignited hope in the hearts of millions abandoned by the world.”
“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 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.”
The IPOB leader told the U.S. president that Christians in Nigeria face an existential threat, particularly in the South-East, which he described as the “Igbo heartland.”
“You have seen the truth: Christians in Nigeria face an existential threat. This challenge affects the Igbo heartland, where Judeo-Christians continue to endure untold hardship,” he added.
Kanu referenced documented cases of violence and human rights abuses, citing reports by Amnesty International and the United Nations.
“Amnesty International (2016) reported at least 150 peaceful Christian worshippers killed, their bodies dumped in rivers. UN Special Rapporteur Agnès Callamard confirmed that at least 60 were killed and over 70 injured in St. Edmund’s Catholic Church during prayers,” the letter read.
“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,’” he alleged.
Kanu, who has been in detention at the Department of State Services (DSS) since 2021, reminded Trump that the Court of Appeal had discharged and acquitted him in October 2022, yet he remains in custody.
“I was never released, so there was no re-arrest, only continued unlawful imprisonment in blatant violation of constitutionally protected double jeopardy safeguards,” he said.
He cited a United Nations Working Group on Arbitrary Detention report that described his detention as “arbitrary, unlawful, and politically motivated.”
“It is a state capture of the rule of law to silence a Judeo-Christian voice,” he added.
The IPOB leader renewed his call for a U.S.-led inquiry into alleged atrocities in Eastern Nigeria, with access to mass graves, military logs, and survivor testimonies.
He also urged the U.S. Congress to convene emergency hearings on what he called the “Igbo Christian crisis” and to consider Magnitsky Act sanctions against specific Nigerian officials allegedly involved in human rights abuses.
In addition, Kanu requested U.S. support for an internationally supervised referendum on self-determination for the Igbo people, describing it as “the only peaceful path to ending this cycle of violence.”
Reaffirming his commitment to peace and justice, Kanu concluded:
“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.
“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.”
