Stephen Ukandu, Umuahia
Leader of the Indigenous People of Biafra (IPoB), Mazi Nnamdi Kanu, has been conferred with Honorary Citizenship of the State of Georgia, United States of America.
Kanu was also adopted as an “Outstanding Citizen” who should be “accorded every courtesy as a Goodwill Ambassador from Georgia.”
The proclamation was issued by Georgia’s Secretary of State, Brad Raffensperger, on behalf of the Republican-controlled U.S. state.
The proclamation letter, dated January 16, 2026, was presented to Kanu on Friday, January 23, 2026, in Milledgeville, one of Georgia’s capital cities, by State Representative Gab Okoye.
Former Consul General of Nigeria in South Africa, Ambassador Uche Ajulu-Okeke, received the certificate of citizenship on Kanu’s behalf and acknowledged the gesture by the State of Georgia.
She described the imprisoned Biafra independence activist as “Africa’s most famous political prisoner and global prisoner of conscience.”
The proclamation reads: “I, Brad Raffensperger, Secretary of State of the State of Georgia, do hereby proclaim Nnamdi Okwu Kanu as an Honorary Georgia Citizen.
“May this Outstanding Citizen be accorded every courtesy as a Goodwill Ambassador from Georgia in his travels to other states, to nations beyond the borders of the United States of America, or wherever he may hereafter travel or reside. Thank you for your service to our state.
“In testimony whereof, I have hereunto set my hand and affixed the seal of my office, at the State Capitol, in the City of Atlanta, this 16th day of January, A.D. 2026.”
The IPoB leader is currently serving a life sentence in Sokoto prison following his conviction by Justice James Omotosho of an Abuja Federal High Court.
Kanu was tried for treasonable offences, which he continues to vehemently deny, challenging the prosecution and the court to cite the law he allegedly violated.
The IPoB leader, who argued that he was tried and convicted under a non-existent law, has vowed to challenge the judgment at the Court of Appeal.
Kanu was arrested in Kenya and extraordinarily rendered to Nigeria in 2021 under the administration of the late President Muhammadu Buhari.
The Abia State-born Biafra activist enjoys global followership even while in custody, as he continues to receive visits from high-profile personalities and members of the Igbo diaspora in solidarity.
Governor Alex Otti; the highly revered Eze Nri of Anambra State; and the National President of the Igbo Women Assembly, Lolo Nneka Chimezie, are among those who have visited him in Sokoto prison.
