IPOB: Washington Lobbying Intensifies as Group Demands Nnamdi Kanu’s Immediate Release
By Our Reporter
The Indigenous People of Biafra (IPOB) says its international diplomatic engagements and legal efforts aimed at securing the release of its detained leader, Mazi Nnamdi Kanu, are continuing at home and abroad.
The Head of IPOB’s Fourth Administration, Directorate of State (DOS), Mazi Chris Nwaọgụ, disclosed this in a weekly address issued on Sunday, August 9, 2026.
Nwaọgụ said the IPOB Elders Advisory Council, in collaboration with the group’s lobbyists in Washington, D.C., recently held discussions with officials of the United States Department of State.
According to him, the discussions focused on what IPOB described as violence against Judeo-Christians in parts of the South-East and other areas it identifies as Biafraland.
He said details of the meeting could not be disclosed because of diplomatic considerations, but maintained that the group’s international engagements were progressing.
Nwaọgụ also announced the return of IPOB Woman Leader, Madam Bridget Okafor, to the United States after a visit to Kanu in Sokoto, where, he said, they discussed developments surrounding his continued detention.
IPOB Accuses UK of Failing to Act.
The IPOB official also criticised the United Kingdom Government over its handling of Kanu’s case, accusing it of failing to intervene despite Kanu’s British citizenship.
He alleged that the UK had continued to provide diplomatic cover for what IPOB described as an unjust detention and trial.
Nwaọgụ further claimed that the UK had maintained that it was awaiting a response to a Note Verbale submitted to the Nigerian authorities since June 2021.
He argued that the continued delay raised questions about Britain’s position on the case.
Group Rejects Claims of Internal Division
On internal developments, Nwaọgụ said attempts to weaken or divide IPOB had failed.
He alleged that successive efforts to infiltrate the organisation had been unsuccessful and insisted that the group remained united under Kanu’s leadership.
He also dismissed what he described as attempts to turn members of the Igbo community against Kanu, alleging that some political figures had participated in efforts to discredit the detained IPOB leader.
The group, he said, had moved beyond what he described as competing factions and was now operating as “one family” under its current structure.
IPOB Pledges Support for Detained Members
Nwaọgụ said the organisation was continuing efforts to document the cases of its members being held in detention facilities across the country.
He added that IPOB lawyers had been instructed to keep families and the public informed about legal developments concerning detained members.
“We will not abandon any of our own,” he said.
Group Challenges IPOB Proscription
On the legal status of IPOB, Nwaọgụ maintained that the order proscribing the organisation remained unlawful.
He said the group’s appeal before the Supreme Court was still pending and argued that the right to freedom of association could not be removed without due process.
He also urged members and the public to examine what he described as the original government Gazette relating to the proscription.
IPOB Calls for De-escalation in South-East
The group renewed its appeal for the reduction of tensions in Ihiala and surrounding communities.
Nwaọgụ rejected allegations linking the Eastern Security Network (ESN) to insecurity in the South-East, describing such claims as part of a campaign against IPOB.
He also called on the Anambra State Government to make public the report of the panel led by Professor Chidi Odinkalu, which IPOB claims exonerated the organisation and Kanu.
Kanu’s Appeal Remains Central to Group’s Campaign
A major portion of the address focused on Kanu’s ongoing legal battle.
Nwaọgụ argued that previous judicial findings concerning the conduct of Kanu’s trial raised fundamental questions about the proceedings and conviction.
He maintained that the group would continue to challenge the conviction through the appellate process and insisted that Kanu’s continued detention was unlawful.
The IPOB official also criticised the decision to keep Kanu at the Sokoto Custodial Centre, citing what he described as security concerns and Kanu’s previous efforts to assist detained persons from northern Nigeria.
Nwaọgụ invoked the longstanding legal principle that justice must not only be done but must also be seen to be done, arguing that any reasonable apprehension of judicial bias undermines confidence in a trial.
‘Biafra Struggle Remains Unshaken’
Concluding the address, Nwaọgụ said IPOB’s international lobbying, legal actions and internal mobilisation were part of a broader strategy to advance what the organisation describes as the Biafra restoration project.
He commended IPOB families across the world, members of the Fourth Administration and those involved in the group’s “Divine Project.”
He reiterated IPOB’s demand for the immediate and unconditional release of Kanu.
Nwaọgụ ended by declaring that the group remained committed to its Biafra agenda and would continue its campaign for what it described as freedom and self-determination.
