Nnamdi Kanu Urges Trump To Probe Alleged Killings of Christians, Igbos
The detained leader of the Indigenous People of Biafra (IPOB), Nnamdi Kanu, has appealed to United States President Donald Trump to initiate an independent investigation into the alleged killings of Christians and Igbo people in Nigeria’s South East.
In a letter dated November 6, 2025, and delivered through his lawyer, Aloy Ejimakor, to the U.S. Embassy in Abuja, Kanu urged Trump to act on his recent declaration that America was “prepared to act militarily and cut aid if Nigeria fails to protect its Christian population.”
Kanu called for “a U.S.-led independent inquiry into the situation of Judeo-Christians in Eastern Nigeria, with full access to evidence and survivor testimonies.”
He wrote, “I extend warm greetings to you in the name of the Judeo-Christian faith and values we both hold dear. Your bold declaration on October 31, 2025, that the United States is ‘prepared to act’ militarily and cut aid if Nigeria fails to protect its Christian population ignited hope in the hearts of millions who have been abandoned by the world.”
The IPOB leader told Trump that Christians in Nigeria face persecution and urged international attention to their plight.
“You have seen the truth: Christians in Nigeria face an existential threat. I write to you now to reveal that this challenge affects the Igbo heartland, where Judeo-Christians continue to suffer hardship,” he said.
Citing reports by Amnesty International and the United Nations, Kanu recalled several incidents he described as targeted massacres.
“Amnesty International (2016) reported at least 150 peaceful Christian worshippers killed, bodies dumped in rivers. UN Special Rapporteur Agnès Callamard confirmed that at least 60 were killed and over 70 were injured in St. Edmund’s Catholic Church during prayers.
“This was not a clash. It was a massacre of worshippers commemorating their fallen. In Aba, 22 were killed on-site, and 13 bodies were exhumed from a borrow pit. Children were executed for singing ‘Sweet Jesus,’” he stated.
Kanu also drew attention to his prolonged detention, noting that the Court of Appeal discharged and acquitted him in October 2022, yet he remains in the custody of the Department of State Services (DSS).
“I was never released, so there was no re-arrest, only continued unlawful imprisonment in blatant violation of constitutionally protected double jeopardy safeguards,” he wrote.
Quoting the UN Working Group on Arbitrary Detention, Kanu said his imprisonment was described as “arbitrary, unlawful, and politically motivated,” adding that it represents “a state capture of the rule of law to silence a Judeo-Christian voice.”
He urged Trump to “authorise a U.S.-led inquiry with access to mass graves, military logs, and survivor testimonies,” and appealed for emergency Congressional hearings on what he called the “Igbo Christian crisis.”
Kanu also called for the imposition of Magnitsky Act sanctions on certain Nigerian officials and sought U.S. support for “an internationally supervised referendum on self-determination for the Igbo people,” describing it as “the only peaceful path to ending this circle of violence.”
“Mr President, history will judge us by what we do when genocide knocks. You have the power to stop a second Rwanda in Africa. One tweet, one sanction, one inquiry could save millions.
“We seek only justice, truth, and freedom, even from a prison cell. May the God of Abraham, Isaac, and Jacob grant you wisdom and courage to deliver His people once again,” Kanu concluded.
Titilope Adako is a talented and intrepid journalist, dedicated to shedding light on the untold stories of Osun State and Nigeria. Through incisive reporting, she tackles a broad spectrum of topics, from politics and social justice to culture and entertainment, with a commitment to accuracy, empathy, and inspiring positive change.
