The Indigenous People of Biafra (IPOB) has commended United States Congressman John James for moving a motion on the floor of the House of Representatives calling for the release of its leader, Nnamdi Kanu, describing the intervention as a significant moment in the group’s campaign for Kanu’s freedom.
James, a Republican lawmaker representing Michigan, moved the motion on Thursday, describing Nigeria as “the deadliest place on earth to be a Christian,” in a video in circulation.
He called on the Nigerian government to either conduct a fresh trial for Kanu in line with the country’s constitution – with access to evidence, legal counsel, medical care, and humane detention conditions – or release him immediately and unconditionally.
The lawmaker said that Christians in Nigeria have faced sustained, religiously motivated violence since 2019, claiming that groups such as Boko Haram have operated with little meaningful response from Nigerian authorities.
He also described Kanu’s conviction as the result of what he called a flawed trial, saying the IPOB leader was punished for speaking out about conditions in the country.
I implore my colleagues to support my bill for the Nigerian government to release Nnamdi Kanu immediately and unconditionally,” James said.
He added that the United States provides significant financial support to Nigeria and would not continue to do so “to fund Christian genocide,” stressing what he described as a moral obligation to support Nigerian Christians.
James’s motion follows an earlier resolution, H.Res. 1321, introduced in the US Congress in May 2026, which called on the Nigerian government to ensure Kanu’s legal proceedings comply with constitutional and international human rights standards.
Kanu was sentenced to life imprisonment in November 2025 after being convicted on terrorism-related charges by a Federal High Court in Abuja.
He is currently held at the Sokoto Correctional Centre, and his lawyers have filed an appeal challenging the conviction, which is yet to be heard.
Reacting to James’s floor motion in a statement issued Friday, IPOB spokesman Emma Powerful welcomed what he called a historic development, saying the group was encouraged that Kanu’s case had drawn direct attention from a sitting member of the US Congress.
“We commend Congressman John James for his courage and the United States Congress for providing the platform,” Powerful said, adding that the group’s US-based representatives had continued to push Kanu’s case internationally.
Powerful said IPOB viewed the development as evidence that international attention on Kanu’s case was growing, pointing to a similar diplomatic engagement the group held with Israeli lawmakers in Jerusalem the previous week.
The IPOB spokesman maintained that his group’s position remains that Kanu was wrongly convicted, arguing that the trial did not meet due-process standards.
He said the group hoped the renewed international attention would put pressure on Nigerian authorities to reconsider Kanu’s case.
Onyendu Mazi Nnamdi Kanu must be released immediately and unconditionally,” Powerful said, adding that IPOB would continue to pursue what it described as its long-standing push for a referendum on self-determination for the Biafra region.
Kanu’s conviction and the circumstances of his detention remain subjects of ongoing legal proceedings before Nigerian appellate courts.
