Did You Tell Nnamdi Kanu To Stop?

By

Olabode Opeseitan

Governor Alex Otti, the industrious chief executive of Abia State, recently went to Sokoto to visit Nnamdi Kanu, the convicted leader of the proscribed Indigenous People of Biafra (IPOB), who is currently serving a life sentence for terrorism.

On November 20, 2025, a Federal High Court found Kanu guilty on seven terrorism-related charges, including inciting violence, issuing unlawful stay-at-home orders, and promoting terrorism through IPOB’s activities.

Since his incarceration, a chorus of voices including politicians, activists, and sympathizers, has risen, calling for his release. Some appeal for a “political solution.” That is their right in a democracy.

But before we canonize Kanu or romanticize his cause, a few questions must be asked, especially of those now lobbying for his freedom.

To Governor Otti, to Senator Enyinnaya Abaribe, who once nearly came to blows in the red chamber over this same matter, and to others now clamoring for clemency:

• When Kanu incited violence that led to the deaths of hundreds of young men and women, many from the very Southeast you love, did you ask him to stop? According to SBM Intelligence, at least 700 people were killed in the Southeast between 2021 and 2023 in violence linked to IPOB and its armed wing, the Eastern Security Network (ESN).

• When IPOB/ESN launched coordinated attacks on over 160 police stations and formations, resulting in the deaths of more than 170 security personnel, did you lend your moral voice to appeal to IPOB/ESN to stop the carnage or did you turn the other eye?

• When these attacks involved bombings, arson, and gun battles, including the burning of the Imo State Police Headquarters in Owerri in April 2021, did you condemn them?

• When Kanu enforced a “no movement” order every Monday, crippling the economy of the Southeast and instilling fear in the hearts of traders, students, and workers, did you urge him to reconsider? The economic toll of these sit-at-home orders has been staggering. According to estimates, the region lost ?7.6 trillion (approximately $5.3 billion) in economic value.

• When he used his platform to label dissenting voices, including fellow Igbos, as saboteurs or enemies of the cause, did you caution him against such dangerous rhetoric?

If you did not, and now campaign for his release with such fervor, be careful. The blood of the innocent, those who died in the chaos unleashed, cries out for justice. Their memory demands more than public grandstanding or selective amnesia.

What is even more troubling is this. The man you seek to free has shown no remorse, no repentance, no public renunciation of violence. During his trial, Kanu refused to enter a defense, claiming the court lacked jurisdiction. He has not disavowed the violence committed in his name.

Justice must be tempered with mercy, yes. But mercy without truth is not reconciliation. It is appeasement. And appeasement, history teaches us, often invites more tragedy.

Let us not forget the cost of silence when it mattered most.
#Kanu
#IPOB
#AlexOtti
#Nigeria