‘Betrayal’ – Igbo clerics condemn South-East govs inaction on Nnamdi Kanu’s freedom

An association of Igbo clergymen, Concerned Igbo Ministers Commission, CIMC, has said governors of the South-East states, with the exception of Alex Otti of Abia, are not sincere in their promise to work for the freedom of leader of the Indigenous People of Biafra, IPOB, Nnamani Kanu.

Shortly after Kanu’s conviction on November 20, 2025, the South-East governors had promised to meet President Bola Tinubu towards working out a political solution that would result in the agitator’s freedom from detention.

Kanu was sentenced to life imprisonment by an Abuja Federal High Court presided by Justice James Omotosho and is currently serving the term at Sokoto Prison.

So far, only Governor Otti, of Abia State, has met President Tinubu over Kanu’s case. Otti’s meeting with Tinubu came after he visited Kanu at the Sokoto Prison.

In a statement on Monday, Igbo clerics, under the aegis of Concerned Igbo Ministers Commission, accused the South-East governors of betraying Kanu, condemning what it described as the governors’ ‘inaction’ on the proposed meeting with Tinubu.

The clerics spoke in a statement titled ‘Igbo governors and the betrayal of Nnamdi Kanu’, signed by the association’s president, Rev. Tony Uzor.

“The Concerned Igbo Ministers Commission (CIMC), led by Rev. Tony Uzor, is deeply worried and disappointed by the continued silence and inaction of most Igbo governors over the continued detention of Onyendu Mazi Nnamdi Kanu.

“After the conviction judgment delivered by Justice Omotosho, Igbo governors promised our people that they would urgently meet President Bola Ahmed Tinubu to seek a political and humane solution to this matter. Till today, only one governor has kept that promise — Governor Alex Otti of Abia State.

“The rest have failed our people. This is no longer a matter of delay or logistics. It is now clear that many of these politicians are not sincere. Their repeated promises have turned into empty words,” the Igbo clerics said in the statement, lamenting the attitude of the region’s political leaders.

The clergymen, however, alleged that the governors are afraid of Kanu and are not comfortable with him regaining his freedom.

“The truth is painful, but it must be said:
Many Igbo politicians are afraid of Mazi Nnamdi Kanu. They fear his popularity.
They fear his courage. They fear the love ordinary Igbo people have for him.

“They know that if Mazi Nnamdi Kanu is released, their years of betrayal, silence, and cooperation with those oppressing Igbo people will be exposed. That is why, except for Governor Otti, they are comfortable watching an innocent man remain in detention.”