The embattled leader of the proscribed Indigenous People Of Biafra (IPOB), Nnamdi Kanu, has written to U.S. President Donald Trump, urging him to initiate an independent investigation into what he described as “state-sponsored genocidal killings” targeting Christians and Igbo people in Nigeria’s South-East.
In the letter dated November 6, 2025, and delivered through the U.S. Embassy in Abuja, Kanu appealed to Trump to act on his recent statement that the United States is prepared to take military action and cut aid if Nigeria fails to protect its Christian population.
Kanu accused the Nigerian government of orchestrating a hidden genocide under the guise of counter-terrorism and cited incidents such as the 2016 Nkpor and Aba massacres, the 2017 “Operation Python Dance” raid on his Afaraukwu home, and the 2020 Obigbo killings as evidence.
He referenced reports from Amnesty International, the UN Special Rapporteur on Extrajudicial Executions, and Nigerian rights group Intersociety to support his claims.
For example, Kanu noted that Amnesty International reported at least 150 peaceful Christian worshippers killed in 2016, with bodies dumped in rivers, and detailed attacks on worshippers during prayers at St. Edmund’s Catholic Church.
Kanu also accused top Nigerian officials, including former Chief of Army Staff Lt-Gen. Tukur Yusuf Buratai, of overseeing military atrocities and later receiving diplomatic immunity to evade prosecution.
He claimed Buratai, now Nigeria’s Ambassador to Benin, exemplifies “state-sponsored impunity on a genocidal scale.”
The IPOB leader recounted his personal ordeal, stating that he survived four assassination attempts and was “forcibly abducted” from Kenya in 2021 in an extraordinary rendition operation that a Kenyan High Court ruled illegal.
He also highlighted that the Nigerian Court of Appeal had discharged and acquitted him in 2022, but the government defied the ruling by continuing his detention, which he described as a violation of constitutional safeguards and international law.
In his letter, Kanu called on Trump to lead a U.S.-backed inquiry granting full access to mass graves, military records, and survivor testimonies.
He urged the U.S. Congress to hold emergency hearings on what he termed the “Igbo Christian genocide” and to impose Magnitsky Act sanctions on Nigerian officials implicated in human rights abuses.
Additionally, he requested U.S. support for an internationally-supervised referendum on self-determination for the Igbo people, framing it as the only peaceful solution to the ongoing violence.
Kanu concluded his letter with a passionate plea, warning of a potential “second Rwanda in Africa” and emphasizing that swift U.S. intervention could save millions of lives.
He signed off as a “Prisoner of Conscience,” reaffirming his commitment to non-violence, justice, and faith.
