Nigeria’s government faces mounting pressure as renewed calls for the release of Mazi Nnamdi Kanu, leader of the Indigenous People of Biafra (IPOB), grow louder — this time from his Special Counsel, Aloy Ejimakor, and human rights activist Omoyele Sowore.
Speaking in an interview with Symfoni Online TV, Ejimakor issued a sharp warning to President Bola Ahmed Tinubu, declaring that unless Kanu is freed, Tinubu’s administration should “forget about securing the votes of South Easterners.”
“The South East will continue to struggle politically,” Ejimakor said. “Unfortunately, we have been politically disadvantaged since the end of the war. IPOB numbers in the millions — members, followers, and sympathisers. For any genuine discussion moving forward, their leader, Mazi Nnamdi Kanu, must be brought to the table.”
‘The Buck Stops at Tinubu’s Table’
Ejimakor pointed out that Kanu’s release has become not just a legal matter, but a moral and political one — a test of the government’s sincerity toward national reconciliation.
“Peter Obi has publicly called for a halt to the prosecution of Mazi Nnamdi Kanu. Why do they keep looking for him? The buck stops at President Tinubu’s table,” he said. “If he doesn’t free Mazi Nnamdi Kanu, he can forget the votes of the South East. Unless there is another plan, they are not going to win the South East without freeing him.”
Ejimakor noted that he has already secured three legal victories in Kanu’s case — one each at the Abia State High Court, the Federal High Court in Umuahia, and the Enugu State High Court — yet the government continues to ignore judicial orders demanding Kanu’s release.
From the Courtroom to the Streets
Ejimakor’s statement follows his brutalisation by the Nigerian Police during a peaceful protest on October 20 calling for Kanu’s freedom. He was teargassed, beaten, and briefly detained at the Kuje Correctional Service Facility, where he was later rushed to the clinic.
“Protest is a communicative measure taken by citizens to express their discontent,” Ejimakor said. “If you lose the right to peaceful protest, then what is the essence of democracy?”
Now released on bail, Ejimakor revealed that the effects of the police assault have forced him to rely on an inhaler. Yet he insists he will not be silenced, vowing to continue pushing for the rule of law and justice for his client.
Sowore Joins the Call for Justice
Fellow activist Omoyele Sowore — who also suffered police violence during the October 20 protests — reaffirmed his solidarity with Ejimakor and the IPOB leader. Sowore, a long-time critic of Nigeria’s security agencies and their disregard for court orders, vowed to keep protesting until Kanu is freed.
Their continued activism highlights the growing frustration in the South East — and beyond — with a government that appears intent on keeping Kanu behind bars despite multiple court rulings declaring his detention illegal.
A Symbol of Nigeria’s Political Hypocrisy
For many in the South East, Nnamdi Kanu has become more than a man — he is a symbol of the Nigerian state’s deep-rooted injustice, its disdain for constitutional order, and its selective respect for human rights. While corrupt politicians walk free, a man whose greatest “crime” was demanding equity and self-determination remains in captivity.
Ejimakor and Sowore’s stance is clear: if Tinubu’s administration continues to defy the law and suppress dissent, it will lose whatever moral and political legitimacy it still claims to hold in the region.
As Ejimakor warned, “Free Nnamdi Kanu, or forget the South East.”
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