A United States-based Catholic priest, Rev. Fr. Augustine Odimmegwa, has called for the immediate release of the detained leader of the Indigenous People of Biafra (IPOB), Mazi Nnamdi Kanu, insisting that his continued detention contravenes both Nigerian and international law.
Fr. Odimmegwa, who serves as the Coordinator of Rising Sun, a US-based nonprofit organization, made the demand in a statement issued on Sunday. He condemned what he described as a “shameful abuse of justice” surrounding Kanu’s prolonged incarceration.
“We, the people, are saying it loud and clear: Mazi Nnamdi Kanu should not be in detention for one more day,” the priest declared. “He was abducted, not extradited. The law is clear — when a man is taken illegally from another country, no court in Nigeria has any right to try him.”
According to Fr. Odimmegwa, Kanu’s trial was fundamentally flawed, noting that he was charged under a repealed law — the Terrorism Prevention (Amendment) Act 2013 — which no longer exists in Nigeria’s legal framework. “He was charged under a dead law. You cannot revive a repealed law to persecute someone,” he said.
The priest further described Kanu’s rendition from Kenya in 2021 as a “criminal abduction” and a gross violation of international law, warning that the government’s disregard for court orders undermines public confidence in the justice system.
“According to the Appeal Court, no court in Nigeria can put MNK to trial because he was kidnapped from Kenya and brought forcefully to Nigeria. That amounts to a gross violation of international law,” he stated.
Fr. Odimmegwa emphasized that the call for Kanu’s release is not an appeal for sympathy but a demand for justice and due process. “We are not asking for favours — we are demanding justice under the law,” he said. “If one man’s rights can be trampled, no one is safe. Justice for one is justice for all.”
“A nation cannot claim to uphold democracy while it jails people in defiance of its own courts,” the priest said. “The world is watching. Justice must prevail,” he concluded.
