The embattled leader of the Indigenous People of Biafra (IPOB), Nnamdi Kanu, has addressed an open letter to former U.S. President Donald Trump, raising fresh alarm over what he describes as a Christian genocide occurring in Nigeria.
Kanu told Trump that the persecution of Christians is no longer limited to the northern part of the country but has now spread to the Southeast, where many Igbo people have been killed.
In the letter, he also recounted surviving multiple assassination attempts allegedly carried out by the Nigerian government.
According to Kanu:
“I extend warm greetings to you in the name of the Judeo-Christian faith and values we both hold dear. As a practicing Jew and a believer in the Judeo-Christian heritage that shaped Western civilization, I was honored to attend your campaign event in Des Moines, Iowa, in January 2020.
“Your bold declaration on October 31, 2025—that the United States is “prepared to act” militarily and cut aid if Nigeria fails to protect its Christian population—has ignited hope in the hearts of millions who have been abandoned by the world. You have seen the truth: Christians in Nigeria face an existential threat.
“I write to you now to reveal that this genocide is not confined to the North—it has metastasized into the Igbo heartland, where Judeo-Christians are being systematically exterminated under the guise of counter-terrorism.
“I am Mazi Nnamdi Okwu Kanu, Leader of the Indigenous People of Biafra (IPOB), a peaceful, non-violent civil rights movement rooted in Judeo-Christian principles. Since 2015, I have survived four documented assassination attempts by the Nigerian state. On 20 June 2021, I was forcibly abducted from Kenya in an extraordinary rendition operation—an act that violated Kenyan and international law, as condemned by a Kenyan High Court ruling (Petition No. E282 of 2021). Despite this ruling, I was illegally transported to Nigeria and thrown into solitary detention in Abuja, without a valid subsisting charge and for the sole crime of defending my people’s right to life, faith, and self-determination under international law.”
Kanu also told Trump that there is a concealed campaign of ethnic and religious extermination targeting Judeo-Christian communities in the Southeast.
He claimed that extremist groups like Boko Haram, ISWAP and Fulani militias the same ones condemned in the North—are active in Igbo areas with government backing. According to him, the Nigerian military is the main enforcer, while a false narrative is being pushed to paint victims as aggressors.
He accused the government of using insecurity as a weapon to criminalize IPOB.
According to him:
“Since my illegal rendition, Nigeria has: Declared IPOB a “terrorist organization” despite zero evidence of violence (confirmed by U.S. State Department, 2021). Orchestrated “unknown gunmen” attacks using state-backed militias, then blamed IPOB. Killed over 2,000 Igbo youths in “counter-terrorism” operations (Intersociety, 2021–2025). This is Rwanda’s playbook: create chaos, blame the victim, justify extermination.”