Release Kanu or send him back to Kenya, S’East Monarch Tells Tinubu, Queries Southern Rulers’ Unity
A South-East traditional ruler has appealed to Presiden Bola Tinubul to release *Nnamdi Kanu*, the convicted leader of the proscribed Indigenous People of Biafra (IPOB), or return him to the country where he was arrested.
The monarch, the Eze Ogbunechendo of Ezema Olo Kingdom in Enugu State, Dr Lawrence Agubuzu, made the appeal on Tuesday during the 2026 National Traditional and Religious Leaders Summit on Health held at the State House Conference Centre, Abuja.
Addressing the President directly, Agubuzu warned that Kanu’s continued detention was deepening frustration among youths in the South-East. He said the situation was eroding the credibility of traditional rulers in the region, as many young people now view them as indifferent to the issue.
He urged the Federal Government to take decisive action, stating that national progress would remain difficult without addressing concerns surrounding Kanu’s case.
Agubuzu also questioned the unity message promoted by the Southern Traditional Rulers Council, alleging inconsistency in its stance. He claimed that while unity was being advocated, plans were underway to confer a high traditional honour on Yoruba Nation activist **Sunday Igboho* whom he described as Kanu’s counterpart in the South-West.
Reacting to the remarks, the Ooni of Ife, **Adeyeye Ogunwusi**, who serves as Permanent Chairman of the Southern Traditional Rulers Council, dismissed suggestions of division within the body. He described the council as a voluntary but formidable platform for collaboration among southern monarchs and stressed that it remains united.
He noted that several South-East traditional rulers are active members of the council and emphasised that membership is optional.
Similarly, the Eze Aro IX of Arochukwu Kingdom in Abia State, **Eberechukwu Oji**, who is the Publicity Secretary of the Southern Nigerian Traditional Rulers Council, affirmed that the council was properly inaugurated and has remained active since its establishment. He said it had held its annual general meeting and carried out joint activities across the southern region.
Kanu, 58, a British-Nigerian activist and founder of IPOB, has been at the centre of a prolonged legal battle.
He was first arrested in Lagos in October 2015 on charges related to treasonable felony over his separatist broadcasts on Radio Biafra. He was granted bail in 2017 but later fled the country after a military operation at his residence in Afaraukwu, Umuahia.
In June 2021, the Federal Government announced his re-arrest and return to Nigeria from Kenya, a move his legal team described as an extraordinary rendition. The case has since passed through multiple judicial stages, including rulings at the Court of Appeal and the Supreme Court.
In December 2023, the Supreme Court ordered that he face trial at the Federal High Court. On November 20, 2025, Justice James Omotosho convicted Kanu on terrorism-related charges and sentenced him to life imprisonment, alongside concurrent prison terms on other counts.
He was subsequently transferred from the custody of the Department of State Services in Abuja to the Sokoto Correctional Centre, a move his lawyers criticised as prejudicial to his appeal process.
