2027: Igbo Youths Demand Nnamdi Kanu’s Release as Condition for Election Participation

Igbo youths have declared that their effective participation in the 2027 general elections will depend on the immediate and unconditional release of Mazi Nnamdi Kanu, leader of the Indigenous People of Biafra (IPoB).

The youths, under the umbrella of the All Igbo Youth Forum (AIYF), also extended their earlier ultimatum to President Bola Ahmed Tinubu by two months, warning that if he fails to engage with them, they will negotiate with any other presidential aspirant who aligns with their demands.

The National President of AIYF, Chief Chinedum Obilor, made this known during a press conference in Umuahia on Tuesday.

Obilor condemned the continued detention of Kanu, describing it as unjust when compared to the release of other agitators like Sunday Igboho of the Oduduwa Republic. He maintained that the terrorism charges against Kanu were “trumped-up” and called on President Tinubu to grant his release, which he said is “the greatest need of Ndigbo today.”

He warned that the ruling All Progressives Congress (APC) should not rely on what he described as “empty promises” from Igbo political elites who claim they can deliver the South-East to the APC in 2027.

“It will be hard for the ruling party to penetrate the zone if Kanu continues to languish in jail,” Obilor said. “Eminent Igbo leaders like the late Chief Mbazulike Amaechi, Chief Emmanuel Iwuanyanwu, and Professor Ben Nwabueze all pleaded for his release, but former President Muhammadu Buhari ignored those appeals.”

Obilor vowed that if the Federal Government fails to release Kanu within two months, the AIYF will mobilise a 10-million-man march across the South-East to press their demands. He revealed that their planned protest had been delayed following pleas by some Igbo political leaders seeking more time to engage President Tinubu.

“They cannot leave Nnamdi Kanu in detention and talk about 2027 elections,” he declared. “We will give Deputy Speaker Benjamin Kalu, as our brother and the number six citizen of Nigeria, time to talk to the President. But if they think they can play politics with this, we will not accept it.”

The AIYF leader criticised what he termed the “systemic exclusion” of Igbos from federal appointments, citing a recent board appointment list that excluded any Igbo person while favouring the children of former leaders.

“Treating Ndigbo as second-class citizens is no longer acceptable. We keep hearing about one Nigeria, yet we are excluded from the political equation,” Obilor said.

On the proposed opposition coalition ahead of 2027, Obilor insisted that any political alliance that does not cede its presidential ticket to the South would be rejected.

“It would be an injustice for the North to eye the presidency again after holding power for eight years,” he stated. “The South-East has not had a shot at power since the assassination of Gen. Aguiyi-Ironsi, yet we have survived without political dominance. Why can’t the North survive without clinging to power?”

Obilor reminded political leaders that the real power rests with the youth.

“Those giving the President false assurances have just one vote each, and most of their families live abroad. We, whose families are here, have the followers and the numbers,” he said.