A coalition of United States-based human rights and self-determination advocacy groups has sharply criticized Nigerian President Bola Tinubu over his recent remarks equating the Indigenous People of Biafra (IPOB) with the terrorist group Boko Haram.
In a joint statement issued by Advocates for Victims of Injustice and Discrimination (AVID), Rising Sun, and Ambassadors for Self-Determination, the groups described Tinubu’s comments as “prejudicial,” warning that they could undermine judicial impartiality and obstruct justice.
The statement, signed by Ambassador Sylvester Onye on behalf of the coalition, condemned the president’s comments as “sub judice” and “a blatant attempt to poison the atmosphere of justice, intimidate the judiciary, and prejudice ongoing proceedings.”
The advocacy groups expressed dismay that Tinubu would make such “false and inflammatory” remarks while IPOB’s appeal remains pending before Nigeria’s Supreme Court and its leader, Mazi Nnamdi Kanu, is currently facing trial before the Federal High Court in Abuja.
“Rather than obsessing over IPOB, Tinubu should direct his energy towards terrorists and armed bandits who are ravaging Nigerian farmlands, displacing communities, and taking lives with impunity,” the coalition stated.
Describing IPOB as a “non-violent self-determination movement,” the groups accused successive Nigerian governments of persecuting Kanu, asserting that such repression has only amplified his influence.
“Envy and jealousy of Mazi Nnamdi Kanu’s popularity among his people will never succeed in silencing him. Every additional day of his detention only magnifies his stature,” the statement read.
Drawing from history, the groups compared Kanu’s resilience to the defiant spirit of the Igbo people, invoking the legacy of the Eboe Landing martyrs. “Just as they chose honour over slavery, so too has Kanu chosen courage over submission,” the statement said.
The coalition called on the U.S. Congress and the Department of State to press for increased transparency in Nigeria’s judicial processes and to advocate for Kanu’s immediate and unconditional release.
“We call on the international community to condemn Tinubu’s reckless and prejudicial utterances against IPOB, demand the release of Mazi Nnamdi Kanu, and hold Nigeria’s ruling elites accountable for ethnic persecution disguised as national security,” they urged.
Concluding their statement, the coalition warned that Kanu’s continued detention would only further empower the IPOB cause.
“President Tinubu has only succeeded in proving one thing: the more he persecutes IPOB and detains Mazi Nnamdi Kanu, the stronger and more popular both become. No prison walls, no courtroom manipulations, and no executive propaganda can extinguish the light of truth.”
The Nigerian government continues to maintain its proscription of IPOB as a terrorist organization, while Kanu’s legal team continues to push for his release, citing previous court rulings in his favor.
