Igbo Diaspora Groups Petition Trump, Seek US Sanctions Over Nnamdi Kanu’s Detention

Igbo diaspora organizations have petitioned former United States President Donald Trump, urging him to impose sanctions on five Nigerian jurists and a former Attorney General of the Federation over their roles in the detention and prosecution of Mazi Nnamdi Kanu, leader of the Indigenous People of Biafra (IPoB).

The groups — American Veterans of Igbo Descent (AVID), Rising Sun Charities Organization, and Ambassadors for Self-Determination — alleged that international laws were violated in Kanu’s abduction, extraordinary rendition, prolonged detention, and ongoing trial. The petition, dated August 28, 2025, was filed through Kanu’s international counsel, Bruce Fein. It called on Trump to invoke the Global Magnitsky Human Rights Accountability Act and Executive Order 13818 against the named officials.

According to the petition, the targeted judges and the former attorney general were complicit in acts ranging from arbitrary detention to denial of Kanu’s access to counsel and medical care. They were also accused of endorsing the federal government’s proscription of IPoB without due process. The petitioners maintained that such actions amounted to violations of Kanu’s rights to free speech, association, and fair trial, as well as his peaceful advocacy for self-determination — rights protected under international law.

The groups emphasized that Nigerian officials should not be shielded from accountability, citing U.S. precedents where foreign judges and officials were sanctioned for similar human rights abuses. They referenced the prosecution of Nazi-era judges by the U.S. and the 2024 sanctions against a Russian judge involved in the arbitrary detention of a Moscow city counselor who opposed the war in Ukraine.

The petition also condemned the 2015 invasion of Kanu’s Umuahia residence, during which several Biafra agitators were killed, describing it as part of the broader persecution against him. The groups argued that Kanu’s call for a referendum on Biafra was within his rights under international conventions and that punishing him for it amounted to further violation of his fundamental freedoms.