The Ndi-Igbo Worldwide Union, NIWU, has listed several Nigerian and international court decisions which it says support its demand for the release of Nnamdi Kanu, leader of the Indigenous People of Biafra, IPOB, insisting that the rule of law must prevail in the country.
The group made the call in a statement announcing its formal emergence as a global socio-cultural, advocacy and humanitarian organisation committed to promoting and defending the interests of Igbo people worldwide.
In the statement issued on Wednesday and signed by its Chairman, Ben Nwankwo, and Secretary, Hon. Chief Charles Edemuzo, NIWU said it was formed in response to what it described as persistent injustice, marginalisation and institutional neglect affecting Ndi-Igbo.
The union said it would assume responsibility for speaking and acting on issues affecting Igbo people in the absence of effective intervention by existing structures.
NIWU stated that the Igbo nation, estimated at over 50 million people in Nigeria and more than 40 million in the diaspora, has faced systemic discrimination dating back to the colonial era and worsening after the 1967–1970 Nigeria–Biafra civil war.
It recalled that despite the declaration of “no victor, no vanquished” and the policy of Reconstruction, Rehabilitation and Reconciliation at the end of the war, those commitments were never fully implemented.
According to the group, the failure to fully execute post-war policies entrenched marginalisation and fuelled renewed agitation for self-determination among many Igbos.
The union cited the absence of major federal infrastructure in the South-East—such as functional railways, seaports, cargo aviation facilities and gas pipelines—as evidence of continued exclusion from national development.
NIWU also raised concerns over insecurity and religious violence, alleging that Christians, particularly Igbos and other minority groups, have been disproportionately affected by attacks across the country.
It referenced figures it said were confirmed by United States lawmakers, claiming that over 52,000 Christians have been killed since 2009, thousands of churches destroyed and more than five million people displaced into internally displaced persons camps. It further alleged that more than 7,000 Christians were killed in 2025 alone as of June.
The union also alleged that Nigerian correctional facilities are overcrowded with Igbo youths detained on what it described as trumped-up charges linked to IPOB or the Eastern Security Network, adding that many are being held without trial.
It argued that the right to self-determination is protected under Nigerian law and international instruments, including the United Nations Charter, the International Covenant on Civil and Political Rights and the International Covenant on Economic, Social and Cultural Rights.
Describing Nigeria as a country where injustice has become institutionalised, NIWU pointed to the continued detention and prosecution of Kanu as a key example.
The group claimed that Kanu’s trial lacked jurisdiction and was founded on what it termed “law unknown to man.”
It also condemned what it described as the kidnapping, torture and extraordinary rendition of Kanu from Kenya to Nigeria, calling the act a violation of international law and an abuse of state power that undermined Kenya’s sovereignty.
Rejecting Kanu’s continued detention, NIWU said its position was based strictly on justice and the rule of law. It listed several decisions it said favoured Kanu, including a January 19, 2022 ruling of the Federal High Court in Abia State on the 2017 invasion of his home; an October 26, 2022 Federal High Court ruling declaring his rendition unlawful; a March 18, 2018 African Union resolution on IPOB activities; an October 26, 2023 Enugu State High Court judgment declaring IPOB’s proscription unconstitutional; a July 22, 2022 opinion of the United Nations Working Group on Arbitrary Detention; and a Supreme Court ruling delivered in December 2023.
The union called on the Nigerian Bar Association to defend constitutionalism and the rule of law by intervening in Kanu’s case.
“As a professional body, the NBA shares in the responsibility to guarantee and protect the rights of every citizen under the law,” the statement said.
NIWU also cautioned Igbo political leaders against exploiting the situation for personal or political gain, warning that history and justice would judge their actions.
Addressing Igbo youths, the group said they had not failed their people but had been failed by some elders and political leaders who traded their future for personal advantage. It urged young people to pursue their demands through lawful and peaceful means.
The union expressed optimism that the coming year would mark a turning point for the Igbo people and called for an end to ethnic and religious violence across the country, while renewing its demand for the immediate release of Nnamdi Kanu.
