Religious Leaders Seek Kanu’s Freedom, Call For Restructuring

A coalition of Igbo religious leaders has called for the unconditional release of the convicted leader of the Indigenous People of Biafra (IPOB), Mazi Nnamdi Kanu, following his conviction in 2025 on treason-related charges.

Kanu is serving a life sentence in Sokoto prison. He has appealed his conviction.

The coalition, while seeking the release of the UPON leader, called for the restructuring of Nigeria, saying the country’s current challenges are rooted in unresolved historical grievances and political injustice.

The group made the call in an opinion article titled “From Aburi to ESN: The Same Twisted Playbook and the Problem Within Igbo Ranks,” signed by Rev. Tony Uzor Anthony on behalf of a coalition of bishops, pastors, priests and custodians of Igbo traditional spirituality across Alaigbo which was shared with THE WHISTLER on Wednesday.

The religious leaders said they were speaking not from partisan interests but from what they described as a moral obligation to defend truth and protect the Igbo people.

“We speak not from partisan politics but from the moral and spiritual duty to defend truth, protect our people, and confront the recurring betrayal that has long plagued the Igbo nation,” the coalition stated.

Drawing parallels between the events preceding the Nigerian Civil War and the current situation in the South-East, the coalition argued that both the 1967 Aburi Accord and the Eastern Security Network (ESN) had been misrepresented.

“The same forces that twisted the Aburi Accord in 1967 are at work again today. The method is identical: take an agreement or a defensive initiative born of necessity, distort it through propaganda, and blame the victim for the ensuing crisis,” the statement read.

According to the coalition, the Aburi Accord reached in Ghana in 1967 provided for a confederal arrangement that would have guaranteed regional autonomy and addressed concerns of marginalisation in the then Eastern Region before it was allegedly distorted.

The religious leaders also defended the creation of ESN, arguing that it emerged after the proscription of IPOB and the deployment of the military to the South-East under Operation Python Dance II.

“The Eastern Security Network (ESN) was birthed by necessity after Igbo governors… unilaterally proscribed IPOB and invited the Nigerian military into our land under the guise of Operation Python Dance II,” the coalition said.

The group questioned the basis for the proscription of IPOB, insisting that no criminal offence had been established against Kanu or the organisation before the action was taken.

“What specific criminal incident by Mazi Nnamdi Kanu or IPOB triggered that proscription? None has ever been credibly demonstrated,” the statement added.

The coalition further maintained that ESN was established to protect communities from attacks by armed herders and bandits, alleging that the organisation had helped shield parts of the South-East from widespread violence.

It also criticised what it described as efforts to portray ESN and Kanu as responsible for insecurity in the region.

“Today, the same voices that invited the army and enabled the insecurity now pour resources… into smearing ESN and Mazi Nnamdi Kanu as the architects of the very insecurity they helped create,” the coalition alleged.

The religious leaders questioned the legal basis of Kanu’s conviction delivered on November 20, 2025, by Justice James Omotosho.

“Under what subsisting Nigerian law did Justice James Omotosho deliver the 20 November 2025 conviction?” the group asked, adding that questions surrounding the applicable laws, jurisdiction and fair hearing remained unanswered.

Calling on Nigerians, particularly those from the South-East, the coalition urged them to reject what it described as misinformation surrounding the agitation.

“Reject the lies. Demand that those who claim ESN is the problem produce evidence of who created the conditions for insecurity in the first place,” the statement said.

The group also called for Kanu’s unconditional release, describing it as essential for lasting peace.

“Insist on the unconditional release of Mazi Nnamdi Kanu as the indispensable first step toward genuine peace and restructuring,” it added.

The coalition further urged a return to what it described as the original spirit of the Aburi Accord.

“Return to the spirit of Aburi – not the twisted version, but the original demand for a restructured federation or, where that is denied, the legitimate exercise of self-determination,” the statement added.