A South-East traditional ruler on Tuesday appealed to Bola Ahmed Tinubu to release the convicted leader of the Indigenous People of Biafra, Nnamdi Kanu, or return him to Kenya or London, warning that his continued detention was deepening youth agitation in the region.
The monarch, Dr Lawrence Agubuzu, Eze Ogbunechendo of Ezema Olo Kingdom in Enugu State, made the call during the 2026 National Traditional and Religious Leaders Summit on Health held at the State House Conference Centre, Abuja.
Agubuzu told the President that unresolved tensions surrounding Kanu’s case were undermining trust in traditional rulers across the South-East. According to him, many youths now view community leaders as compromised and disconnected from their frustrations.
He urged the Federal Government to take decisive action, arguing that progress would remain elusive without addressing sensitive national issues.
Kanu, 58, founder of the proscribed IPOB, was first arrested in 2015 over separatist broadcasts. After being granted bail in 2017, he fled Nigeria following a military operation at his home in Umuahia. He was re-arrested in Kenya in 2021 and returned to Nigeria in a move his legal team described as extraordinary rendition.
Although the Court of Appeal ordered his release in 2022, the Supreme Court later set aside the judgment and directed that he stand trial. In November 2025, a Federal High Court convicted him on terrorism-related charges and sentenced him to life imprisonment. He is currently held at the Sokoto Correctional Centre.
The summit, themed on strengthening community participation in health sector reforms, featured goodwill messages from international partners and a keynote address by the First Lady, Senator Oluremi Tinubu. President Tinubu later addressed participants at the afternoon session.
