IPOB: US groups seek Kanu’s release over health concerns

US-based groups Avid Rising Sun and Ambassadors for Self-Determination are urging Nigeria to release IPOB leader Nnamdi Kanu and evacuate him for medical treatment. In a joint statement signed Thursday by Dr Sylvester Onyia, Mazi Evans Nwankwo and Dede Maxwell, they argued that calls for a self-determination referendum should be addressed democratically rather than through criminal prosecution. They also urged the UK, whose citizen Kanu is, to seek explanations about his treatment and legal proceedings, including the delay in hearing his appeal. The statement says Kanu was convicted on terrorism-related charges and sentenced to life imprisonment by a court in Sokoto in September 2026.