21 November 2025
Ambassador Bianca Odumegwu-Ojukwu, the widow of the late Biafran leader Chukwuemeka Odumegwu Ojukwu, has called for restraint and constructive engagement among the Igbo people and Nigerians at large in the wake of the life imprisonment handed to Nnamdi Kanu, leader of the Indigenous People of Biafra (IPOB), on terrorism charges.
In a statement posted on X (formerly Twitter) on Friday, Mrs Odumegwu-Ojukwu expressed profound disappointment at the Federal High Court’s ruling on 20 November, describing it as “not the outcome we anticipated, nor prayed for”. She had only just returned from a five-day monitoring exercise in Zanzibar, Tanzania, when news of the conviction reached her.
“This is not the outcome we anticipated, nor prayed for, but a reality that is now upon us,” she wrote. “There comes a time in the history of a people when there is need for calm. I therefore advise Ndigbo, and Nigerians as a whole, that such a period is now!”
The former Nigerian Ambassador to Spain emphasised the importance of avoiding any actions that could inflame tensions, warning that “beating the drums of fury and sabre-rattling will only generate diminishing returns, and in the worst case scenario, yet another wasteland”. Instead, she advocated dialogue as “the most effective path toward resolution of this crisis”.
Mrs Odumegwu-Ojukwu urged Igbo stakeholders – including governors, senators, members of the House of Representatives, clergy, traditional rulers, politicians, and business leaders – to unite in collective discussions with federal authorities. She reassured the Igbo community, Nigerians, and international partners that prospects remain for a political solution that could ease national anxiety.
“Now is the time for us all in Ala Igbo to put all hands on deck, and to have a joint engagement, sincerely, involving all the South Eastern States, to seek a political resolution to this matter,” she concluded.
Thursday’s judgment by Justice James Omotosho in Abuja saw Kanu convicted on all seven terrorism-related counts after a protracted trial spanning more than a decade. The court opted for life imprisonment rather than the death penalty sought by prosecutors, citing a need to “temper justice with mercy” despite Kanu’s perceived lack of remorse.
The case has long been a flashpoint for separatist tensions in Nigeria’s South-East, where IPOB seeks independence for a new Biafran state. Kanu’s broadcasts via Radio Biafra and directives enforcing sit-at-home orders were central to the charges.
Reactions to the verdict have been mixed, with some Igbo groups condemning it as politically motivated, while others have privately welcomed an end to enforced disruptions. Kanu’s legal team has vowed an immediate appeal.
Mrs Odumegwu-Ojukwu’s intervention underscores a growing chorus for peaceful resolution amid fears that the ruling could exacerbate regional unrest.
