The South East Patriots (SEP) strongly condemns, in the firmest terms, the current attempt by activist Omoyele Sowore to leverage the tragic memory of the genocidal massacre of Ndi Igbo during the Biafran war in his campaign for the release of Mazi Nnamdi Kanu.
As an organisation that believes in justice, equity, and national unity, we in the SEP have long respected Mr Sowore’s record of personal sacrifice and courage in holding corrupt and oppressive systems to account. His activism has inspired many Nigerians across ethnic and religious lines.
However, his recent efforts to cast the legitimate demand for Nnamdi Kanu’s release as an “Igbo project” are misguided, insensitive, and potentially dangerous. The tragic memories of the Biafran conflict must never be exploited for political advantage or personal validation.
Mr Sowore has, in the past, fought for the release of many Nigerians unjustly detained by repressive regimes without attaching ethnic or tribal colouration to those struggles.
When he fought for his own release from prison, the Yoruba nation was never dragged into it.
When Nigerians—including the SEP—joined in demanding the freedom of Elhassan Qauran-Mata Jnr, nobody, including Sowore himself, mentioned his tribe.
We therefore affirm that Mazi Nnamdi Kanu is a bona fide citizen of the Federal Republic of Nigeria whose fundamental rights are guaranteed by the 1999 Constitution (as amended)—and those rights must be defended on the basis of citizenship, not ethnicity.
The current rhetoric by Mr Sowore, suggesting that the protest for Kanu’s freedom is an ethnic crusade, is deeply concerning. It risks turning a constitutional demand for justice into a sectional confrontation, and may be self-serving, designed to cast him as a political messiah of Ndi Igbo—an image that is both misleading and counterproductive.
We in the SEP hold firmly that the only protest Ndi Igbo will ever conduct as an ethnic nationality is at the ballot box.
We will not allow anyone, no matter how well-intentioned, to gaslight our people into a self-destructive and sectional protest.
The freedom of Mazi Nnamdi Kanu is a Nigerian issue, not an Igbo one. Every Nigerian who believes in justice, rule of law, and human rights should stand for his release—as a matter of national conscience, not ethnic solidarity.
Signed:
Sir Obunike C. Ohaegbu, KSJI
Director-General, South East Patriots (SEP)
Date: 10 October 2025