Uchechigeme Okwu-Kanu, wife of the detained leader of the Indigenous People of Biafra (IPOB), Mazi Nnamdi Kanu, has revealed that she recently underwent major surgery and is still recovering.
Mrs. Kanu disclosed this in a post on her verified Facebook page on Friday, where she also renewed her call for the immediate and unconditional release of her husband, who has been in the custody of Nigeria’s Department of State Services (DSS) since 2021.
“While I am yet to recover from major surgery, I continue to rise in pain because there is work to be done,” she wrote. “My husband, Nnamdi Kanu, remains unjustly and illegally detained, and silence is not an option.”
She described her husband’s continued detention as an injustice, vowing to keep speaking out despite her health condition.
“This is showing our spirits refusing to be broken,” she added. “From Trafalgar Square to Downing Street, we carry the cry of freedom. Injustice to one is injustice to all.”
Mrs. Kanu also announced that a public demonstration would be held on Saturday, November 1, 2025, at Trafalgar Square in London to demand her husband’s release.
Her post has since attracted sympathy messages from supporters of the separatist leader and members of the pro-Biafra movement around the world.
Nnamdi Kanu was rearrested in 2021 after being extradited to Nigeria from Kenya. He faces charges bordering on terrorism, treasonable felony, and incitement over his leadership of IPOB, which is seeking the creation of an independent state of Biafra from the Southeast region of Nigeria.
Kanu had earlier fled the country in 2017 after being granted bail in a previous case, but Nigerian authorities said he violated the terms of that bail. Since his return to Nigeria, he has been detained at the DSS facility in Abuja, where he continues to face trial.
His lawyers and family members have repeatedly claimed that his detention is illegal and that the government has disobeyed several court orders granting him bail.
Earlier this month, several protests were held in parts of Nigeria’s Southeast and some foreign cities, including London and Washington, calling for his release. The demonstrations were largely peaceful but sparked heavy security presence in major cities such as Enugu, Aba, and Onitsha.
There has been no immediate reaction from the Federal Government or the DSS regarding her statement or the planned protest.
Kanu’s ongoing detention continues to generate debate across Nigeria. While the government insists he must face trial for serious national security offences, many of his supporters argue that his prosecution is politically motivated and aimed at silencing dissent in the Southeast.
