The Indigenous People of Biafra (IPOB) has called on the Federal Government to release its leader, Nnamdi Kanu, due to his deteriorating health.

In a statement issued on Wednesday, IPOB spokesman Emma Powerful accused the government of provoking the group by ignoring court orders for Kanu’s unconditional release.

“The global family of IPOB once again calls for the unconditional release of our leader from DSS solitary confinement due to his deteriorating health condition,” the statement read. Powerful highlighted the danger to Kanu’s life in solitary confinement and reiterated the group’s appeals to the government, supported by local and international legal institutions.

Despite pleas from prominent Nigerians, including religious and traditional leaders, as well as members of the National Assembly, the government has continued to ignore these calls. Powerful criticized President Bola Tinubu’s administration for continuing the approach of former President Muhammadu Buhari’s administration and pointed out that similar charges against other activists have been dropped, yet Kanu remains detained.

“Kanu is seriously sick and must be released unconditionally from DSS solitary confinement for him to receive medical treatment before something unpredictable and unimaginable happens to him,” the statement urged.

IPOB charged President Tinubu to free Kanu to enable him to seek medical intervention, noting that since his extradition from Kenya in 2021, Kanu has been detained by Nigeria’s Department of State Services (DSS) without any court finding him guilty. “President Bola Tinubu, please note that Mazi Nnamdi Kanu is sick and something terrible can happen to him if he is not released,” the group concluded.