A prominent South-East traditional ruler, Dr. Lawrence Agubuzu, the Eze Ogbunechendo of Ezema Olo Kingdom in Enugu State, has called on President Bola Ahmed Tinubu to either release the leader of the Indigenous People of Biafra (IPOB), Nnamdi Kanu, or return him to Kenya, where he was reportedly kidnapped before his extra ordinary rendition to Nigeria in 2021.
The monarch made the appeal directly to the President during his goodwill message at the 2026 National Traditional and Religious Leaders Summit on Health, held at the State House Conference Centre in Abuja.Dr. Agubuzu warned that Kanu’s continued imprisonment is fueling agitation among youths in the South-East and eroding the credibility of traditional institutions in the region. “Bring this man out. If we don’t want him in Nigeria, return him to Kenya or London where they took him from,” the monarch stated emphatically, adding that unresolved issues surrounding Kanu’s case hinder national progress and make traditional rulers appear ineffective or compromised in the eyes of the people.
He described the situation as a barrier to promoting federal initiatives in the region.Kanu, who was first arrested in 2015 on treason charges, fled the country in 2017 after his home was invaded by the Nigerian army in what he and his supporters describe as an assassination attempt, leading to government accusations that he had jumped bail.
He was kidnapped in Kenya in June 2021 in what his supporters term an extraordinary rendition. After legal battles—including a 2022 Court of Appeal discharge overturned by the Supreme Court in 2023—he was convicted on November 20, 2025, by Justice James Omotosho of the Federal High Court in Abuja on seven terrorism-related counts and sentenced to life imprisonment.
He is currently held at the Sokoto Correctional Centre and has filed a 22-ground appeal at the Court of Appeal, challenging the conviction on grounds of procedural errors and miscarriage of justice.
The monarch’s plea comes amid recent developments, including Kanu’s directive in early February 2026 to permanently cancel IPOB’s long-standing Monday sit-at-home order across the South-East. No immediate response from the Presidency has been reported following the monarch’s address.
