IPOB Marks ‘Trump Solidarity’ Rallies, Renews Outcry Over 2017 Killings and Kanu’s Detention
Rallies held across Abia, Anambra and Ebonyi renew calls for an independent probe into extrajudicial killings and demand the release of detained IPOB leader, Nnamdi Kanu.
Abia, Nigeria – January 24, 2026
The Indigenous Peoples of Biafra (IPOB) on Tuesday held coordinated rallies across Abia, Anambra and Ebonyi states to commemorate the extrajudicial killing of its members during a pro-Trump solidarity rally in January 2017, renewing demands for the release of its detained leader, Mazi Nnamdi Kanu.
The rallies took place in major towns, with participants carrying placards bearing photographs of Kanu and flying the Biafran flag alongside United States and Israeli flags.
Protesters chanted solidarity songs and called for international intervention, specifically appealing to United States President Donald Trump and the Israeli government.
The demonstrations marked the anniversary of a January 20, 2017 rally in Igweocha (Port Harcourt), Rivers State, organised by IPOB in support of Trump’s inauguration as the 45th President of the United States.
IPOB maintains that at least 11 of its members were killed by Nigerian security forces during that event, while several others remain unaccounted for.
Nigerian authorities have denied the allegations, claiming that security personnel only deployed tear gas to disperse the gathering and that no deaths were recorded.
In a statement issued by its Media and Publicity Secretary, Emma Powerful, IPOB said the latest rallies follows in IPOB manner, peaceful, and aimed at highlighting unresolved questions surrounding the 2017 massacre and a broader pattern of persecution in Nigeria’s South-East.
“During the peaceful rally, participants carried placards, banners and photographs of Mazi Nnamdi Kanu and renewed their demand for his immediate and unconditional release,” the statement said. “They insist that his continued detention remains a major catalyst for tension and instability.”
The group called for an independent international inquiry into the Port Harcourt massacre and urged Nigerian security agencies to respect citizens’ constitutional right to peaceful assembly.
IPOB also appealed to the international community to take urgent interest in the deteriorating human-rights situation affecting the Biafran people.
In a statement released Monday on its official X account, Amnesty International Nigeria accused security forces, led by the military, of carrying out a “chilling campaign” of unlawful killings.
“Between August 2015 to August 2016, the Nigerian security forces, led by the military, embarked on a chilling campaign of extrajudicial executions and violence,”
“This resulted in the deaths of at least 150 peaceful pro-Biafra protesters in the south east of the country,” Amnesty International said.
Kanu’s Kidnap, Rendition and Conviction
Central to IPOB’s grievance is the continued detention of its leader, Nnamdi Kanu. In June 2021, Kanu was kidnapped in Kenya and forcibly returned to Nigeria under circumstances widely described by legal observers as extraordinary rendition.
The Nigerian government acknowledged facilitating his return, arguing that Kanu had spoken in offensive manner against the state and must face trial amidst massive uproar.
In October 2022, Nigeria’s Court of Appeal in Abuja discharged and acquitted Kanu of all charges, ruling that the manner of his arrest and transfer stripped Nigerian courts of jurisdiction to try him. The court ordered that he be released. Similar concerns were later raised by international bodies, including the United Nations Working Group on Arbitrary Detention.
Despite these rulings, Nigerian authorities continued to prosecute the case.
In November 2025, Kanu was sentenced to life imprisonment on terrorism-related charges by a Federal High Court presided over by Justice James Omotosho.
The verdict triggered widespread criticism from legal analysts and human-rights advocates, who described it as a contradiction of prior appellate decisions and international legal standards, a picture of the degradation of Nigeria’s justice system.
The judge also ordered Kanu’s immediate transfer to a correctional facility in Sokoto State, a move that drew further criticism, with legal commentators questioning the court’s authority to determine his place of incarceration, arguing that the idea is to frustrate Mazi Nnamdi Kanu by distancing him from visitors, especially his defense team.
Wider Allegations of Repression
IPOB insists that Kanu’s case is emblematic of a wider campaign of collective punishment against the Biafran population.
The group says its demand is limited to self-determination through a peaceful, United Nations-supervised referendum, but accuses the Nigerian authorities of responding with militarisation, mass arrests, and civilian abuses across Biafraland.
Human-rights groups and local media have documented multiple cases of prolonged detention without trial in the region.
Peoples Chronicles previously reported the death in custody of Mrs. Calista Ifedi, a food vendor from Enugu State who was kidnapped in November 2021 by Nigeria’s Department of State Services (DSS) on claims of providing food to IPOB members.
Mrs. Ifedi was detained without trial at the DSS-run Wawa Barracks in Niger State, where she reportedly fell ill and was denied any medical care.
Authorities did not notify her family of her death, and her husband, who was detained alongside her, was released in December 2025 without being informed that his wife had died while in custody.
IPOB argues that such cases underscore why many in the region now view self-determination as a matter of survival rather than ideology.
As Nigeria faces growing scrutiny over its handling of dissent, the Biafran question continues to resonate beyond its borders, raising unresolved issues of law, accountability and the limits of state power.
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