A traditional ruler from Nigeria’s South-East has appealed to President Bola Ahmed Tinubu to release the detained leader of the Indigenous People of Biafra, Nnamdi Kanu, or return him to Kenya, warning that his continued incarceration is heightening agitation among youths in the region.
The monarch, Dr. Lawrence Agubuzu, Eze Ogbunechendo of Ezema Olo Kingdom, made the call during the 2026 National Traditional and Religious Leaders Summit on Health held at the State House Conference Centre in Abuja.
Addressing the President, Agubuzu urged decisive action on Kanu’s case, saying the matter has become a major source of frustration in the South-East.
He stated that if the Federal Government is unwilling to keep Kanu in Nigeria, he should be returned to Kenya or the United Kingdom, where he was previously based, stressing that unresolved tensions around the issue were undermining trust in leadership.
The summit, themed “The Role of Traditional and Religious Leaders in Advancing the Nigeria Health Sector Renewal Investment Initiative,” was convened to strengthen collaboration between community leaders and government in improving healthcare delivery.
It also featured the signing of a compact by traditional and religious leaders to support reforms in the sector.
However, the atmosphere shifted during goodwill messages when the monarch raised concerns about national unity and the handling of separatist agitations.
He questioned perceived inconsistencies in leadership messaging, referencing the role of the Ooni of Ife and alleged plans to honour Yoruba Nation agitator Sunday Igboho.
Agubuzu warned that frustration among young people in the South-East was intensifying, adding that traditional rulers were increasingly facing backlash from their communities over the prolonged detention of Kanu.
Kanu, a British-Nigerian activist and founder of the proscribed Indigenous People of Biafra, has been at the centre of a prolonged legal and political dispute for years.
He was first arrested in Lagos in 2015 over alleged treasonable felony linked to his broadcasts on Radio Biafra.
After being granted bail in 2017 by the Federal High Court, he fled the country following a military operation at his residence in Umuahia, after which his bail was revoked and IPOB was proscribed.
In 2021, the Federal Government announced his re-arrest and return to Nigeria from Kenya, a move his lawyers described as extraordinary rendition.
Although the Court of Appeal ordered his release in 2022, the Supreme Court of Nigeria later overturned the decision and directed that he stand trial.
In November 2025, Justice James Omotosho found him guilty on multiple terrorism-related charges and sentenced him to life imprisonment, alongside other concurrent prison terms.
He was subsequently transferred to the Sokoto Correctional Centre.
Meanwhile, the Coordinating Minister of Health and Social Welfare, Muhammad Ali Pate, described the summit as a major engagement with traditional and religious leaders aimed at strengthening community participation in ongoing health reforms.
The event also featured contributions from representatives of the World Health Organization and the World Bank, while First Lady Oluremi Tinubu delivered a keynote address urging support for a planned nationwide rollout of the National Community Food Bank Programme.
President Tinubu later addressed participants during the afternoon session, reaffirming his administration’s commitment to healthcare reforms and community-driven development initiatives.
