Activists under the aegis of the Concerned Indigenous People of Biafra and Peaceful Global Awareness Campaigners for Justice and Freedom staged a protest in Abuja on Wednesday, calling for international intervention in the detention of Nnamdi Kanu.
The protesters, who carried placards condemning the “unlawful detention and torture” of the IPOB leader, submitted a letter to diplomatic missions and international institutions in Abuja.
In the letter, the activists called for “urgent global intervention” in Kanu’s case. Copies were addressed to the United Nations, the United States Embassy, the British High Commission, the Chief Prosecutor of the International Criminal Court, the Canadian High Commission, the European Union delegation, the Australian High Commission, the Embassies of France, Germany, China, Russia, Japan, South Korea, Israel, Turkey, Brazil, Ghana, Kenya, Ethiopia, Benin, and the High Commission of South Africa, among others.
Dated November 12,:2025, the letter is titled ‘SOS – Urgent Global Humanitarian Intervention to End the Unlawful Detention and Torture of Mazi Nnamdi Kanu’ and was signed by the coalition leader, Mr Adindu Nkem.
The activists said the protest and accompanying letter represented a global SOS appeal for urgent humanitarian and diplomatic intervention in what they described as the unlawful abduction and continued detention of Kanu, “who was kidnapped in Kenya and extra-judicially transferred to Nigeria in June 2021 — a clear violation of international law and the sovereignty of Kenya.”
The letter further noted that, despite rulings by Nigerian courts, the UN Working Group on Arbitrary Detention, and several international human rights resolutions ordering his unconditional release, the Nigerian government continues to detain Kanu in solitary confinement under inhumane conditions, “amounting to state-sponsored terrorism and torture.”
“As of now, Mazi Nnamdi Kanu’s health has deteriorated gravely in DSS custody. His continued detention and the harassment of peaceful campaigners constitute a direct threat to human life, justice, and global peace,” the letter added.
The protesters called on world powers and international institutions to act immediately to enforce all binding local and international court orders for Kanu’s unconditional release. They also urged the international community to investigate and sanction those responsible for his illegal abduction from Kenya and ongoing torture in Nigeria, and to ensure the protection of peaceful IPOB members against arbitrary arrests, harassment, and persecution.
They appealed to world leaders to “recognize the extraordinary humanitarian urgency of this case and initiate emergency diplomatic dialogue to prevent further escalation.”
The letter stated: “The kidnapping of a lawful self-determination leader from another sovereign nation is not a domestic issue — it is international terrorism. Failure to act emboldens future violations against activists and journalists worldwide. We humbly urge your offices to treat this matter as a life-saving emergency and a moral test of global justice.”
The activists also demanded the designation of Nigeria as a terrorist state, citing persistent human rights violations, extrajudicial killings, kidnappings, torture, and suppression of peaceful self-determination movements by the Nigerian government and its security agencies, particularly the DSS and the military.
They argued that the unlawful abduction of Mazi Nnamdi Kanu from Kenya, a foreign sovereign nation, without due extradition process, constitutes an act of international terrorism and a grave violation of international conventions on human rights and state sovereignty. They further asserted that this singular act, combined with the Nigerian State’s ongoing persecution, killings, and detention of peaceful IPOB members, reflects a consistent pattern of state terrorism targeted at civilians exercising their fundamental rights. In light of this, the activists demanded that the United Nations, African Union, European Union, the United States, and other world powers urgently launch a global inquiry into Nigeria’s acts of state terrorism.
They also called on the international community to classify Nigeria as a terrorist state until it ceases all forms of unlawful abductions, secret detentions, and targeted violence against unarmed civilians. Similarly there urge ICC to expand its ongoing investigations into Nigeria to include crimes against humanity, enforced disappearances, and transnational terrorism, and to impose targeted sanctions on individuals and state institutions responsible for these violations, particularly the DSS leadership, the Attorney General’s office, and the Presidency.
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