(DDM) – President Bola Ahmed Tinubu on Tuesday met privately with Abia State Governor, Dr. Alex Otti, at the Presidential Villa in Abuja.
DDM gathered that the conversation, though officially undisclosed, centred heavily on renewed political and legal manoeuvres aimed at securing the release of the detained leader of the proscribed Indigenous People of Biafra, Mazi Nnamdi Kanu.
The meeting came less than a week after Governor Otti’s high-profile visit to Sokoto, where the IPOB leader is currently serving a life sentence following his terrorism-related conviction on November 20, 2025.
Sources within the Villa indicated that the President is increasingly under pressure from political, diplomatic, and security circles to consider a decisive humanitarian or political intervention that could ease tensions in the South-East.
Governor Otti’s visit to Sokoto, which made national headlines, was part of a carefully planned and ongoing negotiation framework involving legal, political, and community stakeholders pushing for Kanu’s eventual release.
The Abia governor was not alone during the prison engagement.
His entourage included Kanu’s younger brother, Emmanuel Kanu, whose presence underscored the emotional weight of the visit.
Also in the delegation were the Abia State Attorney-General and Commissioner for Justice, Ikechukwu Uwanna (SAN), and Otti’s Special Adviser on Media and Publicity, Ferdinand Ekeoma, along with officials of the Sokoto State Government.
Their presence signalled that the mission was not merely symbolic but deeply tied to an active legal strategy.
Governor Otti has repeatedly insisted that Nnamdi Kanu’s imprisonment is a destabilising factor for the South-East and that resolving the issue remains one of the core priorities of his administration.
He maintains that peace, economic recovery, and political stability in the region cannot be fully achieved without addressing Kanu’s incarceration.
Following his Sokoto visit, Otti reaffirmed his commitment to an existing multi-layered plan already in motion.
He emphasised that the strategy was agreed upon long before his latest engagement and that it would be pursued with persistence and legality.
According to his media aide, Otti believes Kanu is fully entitled to exhaust his legal options, including appealing the conviction.
However, he assured Abians and supporters of due process that his administration would remain actively involved in pushing for a resolution that aligns with constitutional boundaries.
The latest development has revived national conversations about Kanu’s trial, the legality of his conviction, and the broader political unrest in the South-East.
Nnamdi Kanu, whose agitation for Biafra gained global attention, has been a central figure in Nigeria’s most complicated security challenges for nearly a decade.
His arrest, extradition, prolonged detention, and subsequent conviction have triggered protests, sit-at-home orders, security operations, and political negotiations involving both local and international actors.
The Tinubu–Otti meeting has therefore sparked renewed speculation that the Federal Government may be exploring political or executive pathways to settle the matter once and for all.
Observers believe that any major step regarding Kanu will have far-reaching implications for national unity, security, and political dynamics heading into the coming years.
For now, neither the Presidency nor Governor Otti’s office has issued an official statement on the substance of their meeting.
But the momentum surrounding Kanu’s case suggests that the nation may be entering a decisive chapter in one of Nigeria’s most contentious political and legal battles.
