President Bola Ahmed Tinubu has been urged by Ndi Igbo in Germany and Nigerians living abroad to pardon Mazi Nnamdi Kanu, the convicted leader of the Indigenous People of Biafra (IPOB).
Benjamin Chinaka, National Coordinator, and Secretary General Chinasa Ezeji jointly signed the request in a communiqué on Friday.
The petition came at the association’s emergency meeting on November 21, 2025, in Frankfurt, Germany, where members voiced serious concerns about Kanu’s rumored life sentence from a Nigerian court.
The group issued a warning that the ruling would exacerbate ethnic tensions and the already precarious political situation in the country.
Nigeria is currently facing major sociopolitical and security issues. This ruling could deepen ethnic tensions and threaten democratic unity at such a sensitive moment, the statement said.
“We humbly request that His Excellency, President Bola Ahmed Tinubu, exercise his constitutional right to mercy and pardon Mazi Nnamdi Kanu.”
Many of Kanu’s long-standing complaints, according to NIG, are a reflection of the frustrations of common Nigerians, especially those in the South-East, who feel insecure, politically excluded, and economically disadvantaged under the country’s current framework.
President Tinubu should “take a magnanimous decision in the interest of national unity, peace, and stability,” the organization said, adding that Kanu’s release might be a crucial step in restoring confidence in the Nigerian project.
The request is made in response to mounting calls both domestically and internationally for a reconciliatory strategy to deal with separatist agitations and regional unrest in South-East Nigeria.
According to reports, Kanu was found guilty of terrorism-related offenses and given a life sentence by Federal High Court Justice James Omotosho. He was then taken to the Sokoto Correctional Facility.
