Activists under the banner of the Concerned Indigenous People of Biafra and Peaceful Global Awareness Campaigners for Justice and Freedom on Wednesday held a protest in Abuja, demanding international intervention over the continued detention of Nnamdi Kanu, leader of the Indigenous People of Biafra.
The demonstrators, who wielded placards condemning what they described as the “unlawful detention and torture” of Kanu, also delivered a petition to various foreign missions and international organisations in the Federal Capital Territory.
In their letter, titled “SOS – Urgent Global Humanitarian Intervention to End the Unlawful Detention and Torture of Mazi Nnamdi Kanu,” and dated November 12, 2025, the coalition sought “urgent global intervention” in Kanu’s case.
It was signed by the group’s leader, Mr. Adindu Nkem.
Copies of the petition were submitted to the United Nations, United States Embassy, British High Commission, Chief Prosecutor of the International Criminal Court, Canadian High Commission, European Union delegation, Australian High Commission, as well as the embassies and high commissions of France, Germany, China, Russia, Japan, South Korea, Israel, Turkey, Brazil, Ghana, Kenya, Ethiopia, Benin, and South Africa, among others.
The activists noted that, the protest and petition represent a “global SOS appeal for urgent humanitarian and diplomatic intervention” over Kanu’s “unlawful abduction and continued detention.”
They alleged that the IPOB leader was “kidnapped in Kenya and extra-judicially transferred to Nigeria in June 2021 — a clear violation of international law and the sovereignty of Kenya.”
The letter further stated that, despite rulings from Nigerian courts, the UN Working Group on Arbitrary Detention, and various international human rights bodies calling for his unconditional release, the Nigerian government has continued to hold Kanu in “solitary confinement under inhumane conditions, amounting to state-sponsored terrorism and torture.”
It added, “As of now, Mazi Nnamdi Kanu’s health has deteriorated gravely in DSS custody. His continued detention and the harassment of peaceful campaigners constitute a direct threat to human life, justice, and global peace.”
The protesters urged world powers and global institutions to intervene immediately to enforce all binding court orders for Kanu’s release.
They also called for investigations and sanctions against those involved in his “illegal abduction from Kenya and ongoing torture in Nigeria,” while demanding protection for peaceful IPOB members against arbitrary arrests and persecution.
Appealing for diplomatic engagement, the letter read, “The kidnapping of a lawful self-determination leader from another sovereign nation is not a domestic issue, it is international terrorism. Failure to act emboldens future violations against activists and journalists worldwide. We humbly urge your offices to treat this matter as a life-saving emergency and a moral test of global justice.”
The coalition further demanded that Nigeria be designated as a terrorist state, citing recurring cases of “human rights violations, extrajudicial killings, kidnappings, torture, and suppression of peaceful self-determination movements” by security agencies, especially the DSS and the military.
They maintained that Kanu’s “unlawful abduction from Kenya without due extradition process constitutes an act of international terrorism and a grave breach of international conventions on human rights and state sovereignty.” The activists said this, coupled with the “persecution, killings, and detention of peaceful IPOB members,” shows “a consistent pattern of state terrorism targeted at civilians exercising their fundamental rights.”
Consequently, they urged the United Nations, African Union, European Union, United States, and other global powers to initiate a comprehensive international investigation into Nigeria’s alleged acts of state terrorism.
The group also appealed for Nigeria’s classification as a terrorist state until it halts “unlawful abductions, secret detentions, and targeted violence against unarmed civilians.”
In addition, they urged the International Criminal Court to widen its ongoing probe of Nigeria to include crimes against humanity, enforced disappearances, and transnational terrorism, and to impose targeted sanctions on those responsible, specifically naming the DSS leadership, the Attorney General’s office, and the Presidency.
