- Detained IPOB leader Mazi Nnamdi Kanu has written to U.S. President Donald Trump, alleging an ongoing genocide against Christians in Nigeria.
- In the four-page letter sent from his SSS detention, Kanu praised Trump’s warning that the U.S. is “prepared to act” if Christians remain unprotected, saying it gave hope to millions.
- He recounted his 2021 “extraordinary rendition” from Kenya and continued unlawful detention despite a court order. The letter detailed alleged military massacres in Eastern Nigeria, including Nkpor, Aba, and Obigbo, accusing the Nigerian military of systematic attacks on Igbo Christians.
- Kanu urged Trump to launch a U.S.-led investigation, impose sanctions, and support an Igbo referendum
Detained Biafra leader Mazi Nnamdi Kanu has written to the President of the United States, Donald J. Trump, urging him to act against what he described as “an ongoing genocide against Christians in Nigeria.”
Kanu, who leads the Indigenous People of Biafra (IPOB), sent the four-page letter from his detention at the State Security Service (SSS) headquarters in Abuja. The letter, dated November 6, 2025, was addressed to Trump through the U.S. Embassy in Abuja.
Kanu praised Trump’s warning that the U.S. is “prepared to act” if Nigeria fails to protect Christians, saying the statement gave hope to millions who feel abandoned. “You have seen the truth: Christians in Nigeria face an existential threat,” Kanu wrote. “This genocide has spread beyond the North to the Igbo heartland, where Judeo-Christians are being systematically exterminated under the guise of counter-terrorism.”
He recounted his June 2021 abduction from Kenya, calling it an “extraordinary rendition” that violated international law. “The Nigerian government defied its own judiciary,” he said. “I was never released—only continued unlawful imprisonment.” Kanu also cited a UN Working Group report that described his detention as “arbitrary, unlawful, and politically motivated.”
The letter listed alleged military-led killings of Igbo Christians, including the Nkpor Biafra Heroes Day (2016) where over 150 were killed, the Aba School Massacre (2016) where students were shot while praying, Operation Python Dance (2017) which left over 150 people dead during a raid on his home, the Obigbo Massacre (2020) where civilians and children were killed, and the Trump Solidarity Rally (2017) where supporters were allegedly shot during a pro-Trump event.
He accused the Nigerian military of being the “primary perpetrator” of these attacks and covering them up with “false narratives that blame the victims.”
Kanu urged Trump to launch a U.S.-led investigation, impose Magnitsky sanctions on implicated officials, and support an internationally-supervised referendum for the Igbo people. “History will judge us by what we do when genocide knocks,” he wrote. “One tweet, one sanction, one inquiry could save millions.”
Reaffirming his stance on non-violence, Kanu declared, “Even from a prison cell, we reject every form of violence. We seek only justice, truth, and freedom.” He ended by warning that urgent action was needed to prevent “a second Rwanda in Africa.”
