A traditional ruler from the South-East, Eze Ogbunechendo of Ezema Olo Kingdom, Dr. Lawrence Agubuzu, has appealed to President Bola Tinubu to grant freedom to the detained leader of the Indigenous People of Biafra (IPOB), Nnamdi Kanu, warning that his continued incarceration is fuelling agitation among youths in the region.
Agubuzu made the appeal during the 2026 National Traditional and Religious Leaders Summit on Health held at the State House Conference Centre, Abuja. He urged the President to either release Kanu or return him to Kenya, where he was arrested.
Addressing Tinubu at the event, the monarch expressed dissatisfaction that the President was absent earlier when the Ooni of Ife delivered his opening remarks, which focused on national unity and collective progress.
“I must tell you, Mr President, that personally I don’t feel very happy because you were not here in the morning when the Ooni of Ife gave the opening remarks and was encouraging us to work as one,” he said.
Agubuzu also questioned what he described as inconsistencies in the unity narrative, noting reports that the Ooni was considering conferring a high traditional honour on Yoruba Nation activist, Sunday Igboho, whom he described as Kanu’s counterpart in the South-West.
“Please, do something about this. We cannot make progress in this country if we don’t tell ourselves the truth,” the monarch told the President.
Responding to the remarks, a senior media aide to the President, Sunday Dare, dismissed any equivalence between Kanu and Igboho, stressing that the two figures operated under fundamentally different circumstances.
In a statement, Dare argued that while Kanu’s activities were linked to insurrection and armed confrontation with the Nigerian state, Igboho’s activism was focused on community defence and agitation.
According to the statement, the IPOB movement led by Kanu was associated with the enforcement of sit-at-home orders, allegedly through threats and violence, which resulted in numerous deaths. It also cited attacks on security agencies, destruction of public infrastructure and the formation of the Eastern Security Network (ESN) as part of actions attributed to the group.
Dare further maintained that Kanu’s rhetoric and directives were widely perceived as inciting confrontation with the state, with reports linking IPOB-related clashes and enforcement actions to over 700 fatalities in the South-East.
By contrast, the presidential aide said Igboho’s campaign in the South-West centred on defending local communities against alleged killings, kidnappings and farm destruction by suspected criminal elements, particularly rogue herders.
He emphasised that drawing parallels between the two figures ignored critical differences in context, methods and outcomes, adding that it was important for the public to understand the issues in proper perspective.
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