Stephen Ukandu, Umuahia
Some Igbo organizations, including the American Veterans of Igbo Descent (AVID), Rising Sun Charities Organization, and Ambassadors for Self-Determination, have written to former U.S. President Donald Trump, seeking sanctions against a former Attorney General of the Federation and Minister of Justice, Abubakar Malami, and five Nigerian jurists over their alleged roles in the arrest and prolonged detention of the Leader of the Indigenous People of Biafra (IPoB), Mazi Nnamdi Kanu.
Those named in the petition include Justice Binta Murtala Nyako, Justice Haruna Simon Tsammani, Justice Hamma Akawa Barka, Justice Mohammed Lawal Garba, and former Chief Justice of Nigeria, Olukayode Ariwoola.
In the letter dated August 28, 2025, and transmitted through Kanu’s international lawyer, Bruce Fein, the groups accused the individuals of violating international laws through Kanu’s abduction, extraordinary rendition, prolonged detention, and trial.
They urged Trump to invoke the Global Magnitsky Human Rights Accountability Act and Executive Order 13818 against the affected persons.
According to the petition, the allegations against the judges and Malami include arbitrary detention, denial of access to legal counsel and medical care, endorsement of ex parte prohibition of IPoB without due process, and affirmation of illegal detention “to enable the Nigerian government to profit from its own crimes against Mazi Nnamdi Kanu.”
Malami was specifically accused of orchestrating Kanu’s “kidnapping, torture, extraordinary rendition, and arbitrary detention without trial.”
The petition noted that Malami served as AGF under former President Muhammadu Buhari, during whose administration Kanu was allegedly abducted in Kenya and illegally extradited to Nigeria, in violation of international protocols and court rulings.
Quoting the petition: “Nigerian Justices and the former Attorney General deserve Global Magnitsky sanctions for violating Mazi Nnamdi Kanu’s internationally recognized human rights in defense of free speech, free association, and fair trial, in his peaceful advocacy for the Biafran right to self-determination.”
The groups argued that international conventions were grossly abused by the judicial officers and insisted they should not go unpunished.
Citing precedents where the U.S. sanctioned foreign jurists for human rights violations, the petitioners demanded similar action in Kanu’s case. They referenced the prosecution of Nazi-era judges by the United States and the December 31, 2024 sanction of Russian Judge Olesya for arbitrarily detaining Moscow city councilor and human rights defender Alexi Gorniov.
The petition also reminded Trump of the 2017 invasion of Kanu’s home by Nigerian security forces, which resulted in multiple deaths among his supporters, and stressed that Kanu had a right under international law to demand a referendum.
The groups emphasized that peaceful self-determination struggles are recognized by international law, stating: “Nigeria’s persecution of Mazi Nnamdi Kanu began as early as 2015. In September 2017, the military attempted to assassinate him in his home. Many were killed, but he narrowly escaped.”
They recalled how IPoB was banned in 2017 through an ex parte court order, which was later condemned by five UN Special Rapporteurs in a 2020 letter to Buhari. They also recounted Kanu’s abduction in Kenya in June 2021 and his subsequent solitary confinement without trial.
The petitioners further noted that despite multiple local and international court rulings, including judgments from the UN Working Group on Arbitrary Detention (2022), the Federal High Court Umuahia (2022), Nigeria’s Supreme Court (2023), and the High Court of Kenya (2025), the Nigerian government has continued to detain Kanu.
“Millions perished during the 1967–1970 Biafran War, featuring the starvation of infants by the Nigerian government. But the subjugation of Biafrans never ceased,” the petition read.
Ikengaonline reports that Kanu remains in detention at the Department of State Services (DSS) facility in Abuja, despite growing appeals from individuals, groups, and court orders for his release.
