Trump solidarity rally: IPOB holds South-East rallies over alleged 2017 killings, renews call for Kanu’s release

The Indigenous Peoples of Biafra (IPOB) on Tuesday held rallies in parts of Abia, Anambra and Ebonyi states to mark what it described as the killing of its members during a solidarity rally in 2017.

The commemoration relates to a protest held on January 20, 2017, in Port Harcourt, Rivers State, in support of Donald Trump on the day of his inauguration as United States president. IPOB has maintained that 11 of its members were killed by security operatives during that event, a claim the police have repeatedly denied, saying officers deployed only tear gas and that no deaths were recorded.

During Tuesday’s rallies across major towns in the three South-East states, IPOB members displayed placards bearing photographs of their leader, Nnamdi Kanu, alongside Israeli flags. Participants also chanted songs calling for Kanu’s release.

Kanu, IPOB’s leader, was sentenced to life imprisonment in November 2025 after being convicted on terrorism-related charges. IPOB used the rallies to renew its demand for his release and appealed for intervention from Donald Trump and the Israeli government.

In a statement issued by its media and publicity directorate, IPOB called for an independent investigation into the events of January 20, 2017, in Port Harcourt.

The group said the rallies were peaceful and focused on demanding accountability for the alleged killings, as well as drawing attention to insecurity in the South-East. It urged security agencies to respect citizens’ rights to peaceful assembly and asked the international community to monitor what it described as a deteriorating human rights situation in the region.

At Kanu’s sentencing, the trial judge, James Omotosho, ruled that the prosecution had proved its case beyond reasonable doubt. Kanu was convicted on five counts of a seven-count charge and sentenced to life imprisonment. He also received additional prison terms of 20 years and five years on two other counts.

Kanu is currently being held at a correctional facility in Sokoto State.