Pro-Igbo groups in the diaspora, including the American Veterans of Igbo Descent (AVID), Rising Sun Charities Organization, and Ambassadors for Self-Determination, have petitioned U.S. President Donald Trump over the detention of the leader of the Indigenous People of Biafra (IPOB), Mazi Nnamdi Kanu.
The groups, in a petition dated August 28, 2025, and submitted via Kanu’s international lawyer, Bruce Fein, advocated for the application of the Global Magnitsky Human Rights Accountability Act (22 U.S.C. 10102(c)) and Executive Order 13818 in relation to Kanu’s case.
The petition referenced several judicial pronouncements, including those from Nigerian and Kenyan courts, as well as a 2022 United Nations Working Group on Arbitrary Detention opinion, which called for Kanu’s unconditional release.
The groups revealed that Nnamdi Kanu’s continued detention despite several rulings in his favour raises major human rights concerns.
According to them, international conventions are needed at this point to emphasise Kanu’s rights to fair trial, association, and peaceful self-determination.
They recalled Kanu’s many ordeals since 2015, including the proscription of IPOB and his 2021 transfer from Kenya to Nigeria, which remains an ongoing subject of international attention.
The groups appealed to the U.S. government to consider their petition, emphasising past instances where the U.S. had frowned at violations of human rights in other nations.
The petitioners added that despite the Biafran War’s devastation, calls for self-determination remain loud due to unresolved grievances, and international intervention would go a long way towards ensuring fairness and justice in the IPOB leader’s case.
